American Style
by Moonsaber
Summary: This is an AU setting where the circumstances of our favorite K-On! girls are markedly different from canon. In this universe, the original four girls met for the first time at a private women's college in the United States. Azusa now joins them.
1. Blackbird Fly

Setting: This is an AU setting where the circumstances of our favorite _K-On!_ girls are markedly different from canon. In this universe, the original four girls met for the first time at a private women's college in the United States, and the ones a year younger are arriving for their first semester as the story begins.

Notes: I represent internal dialogue as _italics_, English as "simply quoted" and Japanese as "_[bracketed italics inside quotation marks]."_

I don't own _K-On!_. I am using characters from that work without permission, but I am not using them for profit. I promise.

I have used excerpts of the Lennon-McCartney song _Blackbird_, which I also do not own. Sir Paul, please do not come after me.

Page breaks finally added in, thanks for pointing that out ZIIIX!

* * *

**American Style, Chapter 1 – Blackbird Fly**

Nakano Azusa stared out the window of the Boeing 777. The flight from Japan was almost sixteen hours nonstop from Narita to JFK airport in New York. After a short layover and plane transfer, she'd be at college in Pennsylvania to start a new life. In a way, it felt unreal that her local arrival time in Philadelphia would be less than three hours after her take-off time from Narita. She knew she had to get some sleep, and she'd taken some pills to help. It was hard not to reflect on what had led her to this journey as she watched the tops of the cottony white clouds below. So peaceful.

At four feet eleven inches, Azusa was a small woman even by Japanese standards. She was pretty, with waist length black hair worn in two ponytails and a trim build that made it easy to mistake her for someone even younger than her eighteen years. Her amber eyes, large in her heart-shaped face, were rounder than those of the typical Japanese, and were perhaps the feature that stood out most.

The flight attendant walked the aisle of the 777, checking on the passengers on the long, overnight flight. She noticed a light on in one of the rear-most rows.

Stopping by to investigate, she saw Azusa sitting alone, clearly unable to sleep. She hadn't been informed there was an unaccompanied minor on this flight, and the girl wasn't wearing the usual tag, so she decided the girl was simply small-sized. Her tiny frame made her appear vulnerable, and she seemed sad. Maybe it wasn't her size at all. The flight attendant decided to see if she could soothe the young girl.

"_[First time out of Japan?]"_

Azusa turned and nodded. She smiled, and the flight attendant returned it.

"_[You'll want to sleep as much as you can. Can I get you anything to help you relax?]"_

Azusa shook her head.

"_[I took something earlier to help me sleep. I'm waiting for it to take effect.]"_

The flight attendant nodded.

"_[You look like you're doing a lot of thinking,]" _she said._ "[If your mind is racing, you won't be able to sleep. My break is overdue, so if you want to talk, I'm willing to listen.]"_

Azusa smiled and nodded.

"_[That would be nice.]"_

The flight attendant reached into a nearby overhead bin to get a blanket and pillow. After handing them to Azusa, she slipped into the seat next to her.

"_[May I ask what you're traveling to America for?]"_

Azusa looked out the window a moment, then slid down the blind. She propped the pillow behind her head, spread the blanket out over herself, and turned towards the flight attendant.

"[_I was accepted into a college in America. Cnoc Mor. It's a women's college that concentrates on music and science._]"

It was prestigious, too, but Azusa didn't want to brag about that.

The flight attendant clasped her hands in her lap and smiled.

"How's your English? Do you think you'll have any trouble keeping up?"

Azusa was momentarily startled by the switch in language. The woman she was talking to had that "Continental Accent" prized by the airline industry. Needless to say, her diction was far better than Azusa's.

"I took a three-month immersion course in English after I graduated from high school," she answered, speaking slowly and carefully. "There was a long break between when I graduated in April and when school starts in America in September. I used it to my advantage. My parents also speak English well, and they've helped."

The flight attendant clapped her hands lightly together once and grinned.

"Oh, you're quite well-prepared! So music or sciences, correct? What are you planning on studying?"

Azusa smiled back.

"I am majoring in modern music and theory. I might take a minor in mathematics."

"So you are a musician? Did you have to audition to get into the school?"

"I play guitar," Azusa replied with a nod. "Classical, jazz, and rock. I want to learn more about composition. There was an audition, and, um, I passed."

Azusa was a fairly accomplished guitarist for her age, but part of that was due to the influence of her parents, who were professional Jazz musicians. She'd been playing guitar for as long as she could remember, from about age six. Her tiny hands had the telltale calluses of an experienced guitarist on the finger tips and along the leading edge of her left index finger. She rubbed them together and smiled at the flight attendant. She'd more than passed her audition – the judges had actually applauded – but she wasn't going to say anything about that because she didn't want to sound like she was bragging.

"Have you gotten a cell phone for America yet?"

The flight attendant knew that kids these days were really into their smart phones, and it would therefore be a safe topic of conversation. She was rewarded with a big smile.

"Yes! I got one of the new iPhone 4s! I paid for it myself with money I earned from my summer job, and my parents are paying for my phone plan. Since I am a scholarship student, they are rewarding me a little for the money they are saving."

The flight attendant heard a "bing" sound as another passenger requested attention. She glanced at her watch, then rose and bowed slightly.

"Sorry, my break is over. I'll come by again when I can. Try to get some sleep – you'll need it. It was nice talking to you, Miss."

Azusa waved goodbye and then curled up in her seat, her mind still in motion even as sleep tugged at her.

She thought about the real reason she was headed to America. Not that the amazing opportunity she was getting going to this school was not enough. There was a bigger reason she couldn't be happy in Japan. It was one that her parents had picked up on almost before she was fully aware of it herself. They loved their precious Azusa, and wanted her to grow as a person and be happy. They were fully supportive of her, and that included her sexual preference.

"_Lesbian" is a nasty word in Japan. As they say, "the nail that sticks up gets pounded down." For a girl to like girls is not the norm. Discrimination would be the least of my worries in Japan._

Luckily, her parents had contacts in the music world, and through them she had been able to get into Cnoc Mor on scholarship. She was told the college had a very liberal attitude toward homosexuality, and even had a large and very active student LGBT organization. They welcomed and nurtured young women, and did not discriminate based on sexual preference. It sounded like a fairy tale to Azusa, and she had hopes of being able to fully be out of the closet for the first time in her life.

By the time she reached junior high, she was already well-aware that she liked girls. Going to a coed school helped her figure it out. She had ample exposure to boys, but all her crushes were girls, and that made things obvious.

At the time, she was nearly the same size as everyone else, having pretty much hit her adult size already, and she fit in normally. Some of the other students were already dating, but Azusa knew her preference would make her stick out, so she avoided it. She focused on her studies and on Jazz Band, staying safely in her closet at school. Most thought she just was a late bloomer, and she let them believe that for all three years of junior high.

_Little did my classmates know I was avoiding contact because I thought they would just know that I found other girls attractive. I hate living a lie._

Azusa decided to go to a private all-girl high school. In the single-sex environment, she felt more comfortable, and very carefully came out. She even dated a few girls. One of them broke her heart in her second year, and that was the last time Azusa had seriously tried to date. Aiko was her name. She had seemed so open and honest, but it turned out she was just experimenting, while Azusa was serious. Aiko was the only girl who had let her go beyond kissing, but she never touched Azusa back the same way. When she got tired of Azusa, she dumped her for a guy.

_Aiko was just "bi-curious." She led me on, but I guess I let her. I tried to pretend everything was fine afterward, even though I was so wounded. I haven't let anyone close since. But it's been really lonely for me lately_.

The school didn't have a music club she wanted to join, but she did get to play at a few live-house events as a replacement several times. One replacement gig even lasted six months. No one really wanted to keep a tiny high school girl as a full time member of their band, though.

_Especially once they figured out I like girls. The rumors always found me, even though I tried to act "normal."_

Azusa sighed and settled in as she felt the drugs doing their job. She adjusted the pillow and curled her small body up into a ball in her airline seat as the lights in the cabin were dimmed for night. She fell asleep wondering about her roommate. The information packet she'd received from the college said she'd be rooming with another freshman, or "frosh" as the school called them. A girl with a Japanese name: Hirasawa Ui.

* * *

As Azusa slept her way across the Pacific and continental United States, the incoming frosh in question, Hirasawa Ui, was loading the last of her belongings into a slightly battered late-model Honda Element. The rear seats folded to the sides to allow a fairly impressive amount of flat space in back, and the rubber-matted cargo area was packed full with guitar cases, amps, bags, boxes and every other item that two young women might need to take to college for a year. She'd had to adjust the load to make things fit without being dangerous, because her older sister had already shoved her belongings in rather haphazardly.

_I love you, Onee-chan, but you really stink at packing. No helping it…I couldn't stop her from shoving all her stuff in last night. It's so cute how excited she is to go back._

Ui and her older sister Yui closely resembled each other. Both were about 5'2" ethnic Japanese with brown chin-length hair. Yui wore her hair down with her bangs pinned back, while Ui wore hers in a short ponytail. While Ui was serene and patient, her sister was impulsive, extroverted, and quick to laugh. Both had the spare build typical of young Japanese women: compact, but curved where it counted.

Ui was wearing long loose shorts, a long loose floral top she had determined would be comfortable for driving, and a pair of sneakers. Her sister, however, was wearing much shorter shorts that showed off her surprisingly muscular legs, and pink sleeveless top that tended to expose her midriff if she moved much. She was barefoot, too, with her flip flops already carelessly dropped on the passenger floor mat.

"Uiiiiiiiii! Come on, let's go!"

Ui winced internally at the way Yui drew out the last syllable of her name in a whine, but she couldn't keep from giggling in spite of herself.

_She is just too cute, even when she's being annoying. I'm glad we're back together again. I missed her so much last year._

"Onee-chan, it's a five-hour drive, and the dorms don't open until noon," she answered patiently. "It's barely seven now."

Yui, already seated and buckled into the passenger seat, huffed and folded her arms.

"Why can't I drive?" she whined as Ui shut the back hatch and did a quick walk around of the vehicle before slipping into the driver's seat and buckling her own seat belt.

"Who is it that backed into a light pole and opened a door into a dumpster?" Ui said firmly as she adjusted the mirrors. She couldn't help smiling at her sister's antics, though.

Yui was silent for a moment as her sister started the car.

"Sorry, Ui."

Ui smiled softly and reached over to pat her sister's leg.

"Who has a better chance of staying awake on a long drive?"

Yui sighed and patted her sister's hand on her leg before it was withdrawn.

"My cute little sister does, of course. You know I'm just worked up about seeing the girls again. It's been months, and we're all coming back early to get in some practice before the semester starts. And we're sharing one of those cool suites, too! It's going to be great! You'll love them, Ui!"

Yui seemed to get more excited with each statement she made. Ui laughed softly in response as they pulled out of the driveway of their home in suburban New Jersey.

"I've met them, remember?" she reminded her older sister with a giggle. "They all stayed with us over Thanksgiving, and over Christmas break Mio and Ritsu stayed with us because they couldn't afford to go back to Japan. Mugi even came to my graduation with you in June."

"Oh, right, you do know them," Yui said, lightly hitting her forehead with her palm. After a moment, she gave her sister a sly look.

"How could I forget that Mugi came to your graduation?" she said with a dry chuckle. "You were so thrilled. I'm still surprised you accepted her gift."

She kept watching her younger sister, grinning now.

"Something going on there you need to tell me about, little sis?"

Feeling her cheeks pinking slightly, Ui decided to change the subject. She wasn't quite ready to discuss Mugi with Yui.

"I'm thinking we can hit a drive-through at the state line. Burgers sound good to you, Onee-chan?"

Yui squirmed in her seat and looked around, her stomach rumbling with approval at the suggestion of food. They still weren't out of their home town of Red Bank.

"Burgers sound great. Do we have to wait that long though?"

Ui giggled a little and relaxed. Bringing up food never failed to distract Yui.

"We'll stop for some food in on the way out of town, so why don't you relax?"

Yui plugged her iPod cable into the console on the SUV and settled back into her seat as the song mix filled the cabin. By the time they were on the highway, she was dead asleep, smiling in a pile of burger wrappers.

* * *

Azusa found herself looking out another window on another plane, this one much smaller.

_Almost there. My haven._

This leg of her journey was much shorter. The plane barely got up to cruising speed before it entered the pattern to land in Philadelphia. She stared at the rural greenery below with astonishment.

_Does anyone really live here? America is so big!_

She glanced through her travel packet again, checking her itinerary. After landing at Philadelphia, she would get off the plane and catch the shuttle bus for incoming Cnoc Mor students.

The college had arranged flights for its foreign students so that it could ferry them somewhat economically, so she would likely be traveling with other foreign students to the school. She sighed softly and looked over a few other things before putting the packet away just as the plane descended and the fasten seatbelt sign lit up.

The baggage claim area confused Azusa. Luckily, a kind airport worker took pity on her and helped her find a cart to carry her baggage.

When she finally got to the shuttle bus, she found was the last to arrive. Embarrassed, she slumped into an empty seat by the door as the driver loaded her bags. She didn't look around at the other passengers. She was too short to see over the high-backed seats anyway.

Soon the bus was headed out of the airport and away from the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It was a little surprising how quickly farmland appeared outside her window, since was used to the sprawl of Tokyo. She didn't notice any other passengers looking at her, until one approached her.

* * *

At the back of the bus, a pair of young Japanese women did indeed take notice of the diminutive guitarist who had held up their departure. They didn't complain, but watched with interest as two guitar cases and what looked like an effects box were loaded along with several bags. This bus was specifically for Cnoc Mor, and one of those cases was a turtle-shell Fender case. They had Azusa pegged immediately as a music major.

The shorter of the two girls, Tainaka Ritsu, grinned. Ritsu was 19, a returning sophomore, about 5'3" with a toned, athletic build that her baggy shorts and loose spaghetti-strapped top showed off to full effect. The top also clearly advertised she wasn't wearing a bra. Her chin-length dyed-brown hair had the bangs held back with a yellow hair band, exposing her prominent forehead.

"Did you notice the shorty had two guitar cases, Mio?"

The young woman she was talking to, Akiyama Mio, was quite the stunner. Her jet-black hair hung in a single loose ponytail that fell to her waist. She was tall for a Japanese woman at 5'7", but slim, with provocative curves and a generous bust. Her skin was pale, where Ritsu's was tanned. She was wearing a light blue sun dress that came past her knees and a pair of white strapped sandals. Her toes were immaculately manicured, but her fingernails were instead clipped short and uncolored. Looking twice, one might notice the tall beauty had rather large hands with long fingers. Honestly, they didn't really stand out, but she was self-conscious about them anyway.

"And an effects case," Mio added. "I recognized a Fender hard-shell."

"Think it's time to recruit?"

"Recruit for the club or for the band, Ritsu?" Mio asked.

"Either or both, but not for the bed, so don't worry," Ritsu grinned. She winked as she squeezed Mio's hand, which she held concealed between them. "Anyway, I'm damned glad to be back in the States. I know your parents were okay with it when we told them about us, but my parents won't be when they find out."

Ritsu sighed.

"We might want to stay here and work somehow or something next summer. I need to build up a bit of cash before they disown me so I can ride it out, y'know?"

Mio popped Ritsu lightly on the top of the head.

"Idiot! You have friends that will take care of you. Let us, okay?"

Ritsu smiled a little and rubbed her head lightly where Mio had hit her.

"I hate being a burden," she shrugged.

Mio squeezed Ritsu's hand and lightly stroked the back of it with a calloused thumb. She spoke softly so the rumble of the bus would drown out her words so only Ritsu could hear them.

"I love you, Ritsu, and I'll always be there for you." Then she grinned, and raised her voice a bit. "Except when you want to start harassing incoming frosh before they even get on campus. Now go, recruit her before anyone else can."

She smiled and gave her girlfriend a little push to get her going.

With a groan, Ritsu got up and moved to the front of the bus. She looked down at the tiny woman in the front seat. She was pretty cute, actually, resembling a mini-Mio.

Ritsu decided to test the tiny girl's English. She was proud of her own English skills. They were hard-earned during her first year at college, and although she had an accent, she sounded almost fluent now. She and Mio had been speaking it almost exclusively to each other over summer break. Their speed and proper enunciation made it difficult for most Japanese to follow much of anything they said to each other, even before you added in the slang they inevitably used.

* * *

"Ah, hey! What kind of guitar was that I saw being loaded?"

Azusa was startled out of her scenery-watching by the sound of Ritsu's voice. Turning away from the window, she saw there was an attractive young Japanese woman standing next to her. She sat up straight, and found herself staring directly at the woman's chest. Ritsu, being Ritsu, had no idea that the bus' air conditioning was making it fairly obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. Azusa gulped.

_I didn't realize it was quite so cold on this bus. _

She forced herself to look the newcomer in the eyes.

"Ah…it is Fender Mustang Reissue, Japanese."

_Not bad. Not perfect English, but I can hang. _

Ritsu grinned when she heard Azusa's reply. She switched to Japanese, and noticed the girl seemed immediately less tense.

"_[Tainaka Ritsu. Mind if I sit with you for a bit?]"_

Azusa shook her head and gestured toward the open seat.

"_[Nakano Azusa. I'm pleased to meet you. Are you a]…_frosh,_ [or a returning student?]" _

"_[I'm a second-year. Are you an incoming] _frosh?"

The diminutive guitarist nodded.

"_[Incoming.]"_

Ritsu motioned her head towards the window to indicate the cargo compartment.

"_[Music major, I'm guessing? With an axe like that, I hope you're going into the new Modern Studies curriculum.]"_

Azusa blinked as her gaze momentarily dropped to the other woman's top by reflex. She tried unsuccessfully to fight off a blush as her eyes snapped back up to Ritsu's face.

"[_Yes, I have classical and jazz guitar training, but I was thinking of the Modern Composition major,_]" she squeaked nervously.

To her surprise, Ritsu grinned eagerly.

"_[I'm with the] _Rock Music Club,_ [and my group is looking for another guitarist. It counts for your practical or ensemble credit, and if you can really wield that axe, we'd love to have you audition for us.]"_

Azusa's eyes went wide and she nodded.

"_[That sounds wonderful.]"_

_Especially if they're all hotties like you._

Ritsu looked thoughtful for a moment, then held out her hand.

"_[Can I see your dorm assignment? I bet you're in] _Tullamore. _"[It's where most of the foreign music majors get assigned.]" _

Azusa pulled her packet out of her carry-on, slipped out the top sheet, and handed it to Ritsu.

"Hot damn!" the brunette exclaimed. _"[Your roommate is our guitarist's little sister. You weren't going to be able to avoid us anyway.]"_

She got up and motioned to Azusa.

"_[Hey, come back and talk to our bassist! She's got a picture of Ui on her phone, I'll bet.]" _

They walked to the back of the bus, and Ritsu motioned for Azusa to sit.

"Hey, Mio, this girl is Ui's roomie! Pull up a picture of her on your Droid."

"Oh? That's good, then."

Mio hummed to herself softly as she pulled out her phone, which had been mostly useless when they were in Japan. She unlocked it and started flipping through pictures. Meanwhile, Azusa stood openly gawking at the beautiful, raven-haired girl.

_Wow, she's gorgeous! That's two for two, and this one is even hotter._

Ritsu might have been clueless about someone staring at her own breasts, but she was very quick to pick up on anyone checking out Mio. She leaned in towards the smaller woman and growled softly in Japanese.

"_[Don't get any ideas, short stuff. She's mine.]"_

Azusa went rigid at her words.

_Crap, they're a couple, it seems. Oh well. At least they won't mind my preference._

Mio's eyes widened, and she blushed slightly as she caught Ritsu's comment. With an embarrassed smile, she bowed slightly to Azusa in greeting.

"_[Akiyama Mio,]" _she said in a low voice, continuing in Japanese rather than English for the sake of privacy. _"[Please excuse Ritsu. Even though we've been dating for over four years now, she can still be very possessive. Besides, you know how drummers are.]"_

Ritsu stuck out her tongue at Mio, then sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, her facial expression suggesting that anyone hitting on Mio was dead meat.

Meanwhile, Azusa was blushing furiously, her eyes firmly taking in the view of her own feet. Mio patted the seat next to her until Azusa finally sat down.

"_[What's your name?]"_ Mio asked softly.

"_[Nakano Azusa,]"_ Azusa managed to squeak._ "[Please take care of me, Senpai.]"_

Ritsu leaned in and whispered to the younger girl so that only the three of them heard.

"_[Okay, so you were obviously checking out Mio just then. I guess that means you prefer girls, huh?]"_

Azusa nodded hesitantly, unable to look at either of them. She worked desperately to fight back a panic attack. She was planning on being out of the closet at CMC, but she wasn't planning on coming out like this.

"_[Yes, I do. Is that a problem?]"_

Ritsu looked amused, but said nothing. Mio, however, smiled and reached out to pat Azusa's arm.

"_[Relax. It's okay.]"_

Azusa looked up at Mio in surprise.

"_[So, you really don't mind?]"_

To Azusa's amazement, both Mio and Ritsu looked like they were trying not to burst into laughter.

"_[You're asking two women who are dating if they mind single-sex relationships?]"_ Ritsu asked, shaking with amusement. _"[You've got to be kidding me! Of course we don't mind.]"_

"_[Ritsu!]"_ Mio scolded. _"[Quit being mean. Don't listen to her, Azusa. Just relax, and I'll find a picture of Ui.]" _

Azusa sat still, her chin on her chest. She stared at the seat back in front of her, fighting down her embarrassment as Mio thumbed through the pictures on her phone.

"_[Oh, here we go. You'll like Ui. She's a sweet girl.]"_

Mio held the phone out in front of Azusa, who studied the two girls in the photo. One had with chin length hair and a huge smile and was giving the camera a big peace sign. Her arm was around a similar-looking girl with a ponytail, who regarded the camera with a composed expression.

"[_The one hamming it up is our guitarist, Yui,]" _Mio explained._ "[The other is her younger sister Ui, your roommate_.]"

Azusa examined the picture. They were both very pretty, but her eyes kept going back to the older sister.

_God, they're both gorgeous! That's four for four. My roommate is really cute, but that's probably a really bad idea. The sister, though…_

She cleared her throat and looked back to Mio.

"_[Ah…Mio-sempai…Is she…are they…like us?]"_ Azusa stammered.

Mio raised her brows at that question, then smiled gently. She knew right where this girl was coming from.

"_[I'm pretty sure they both are. And both single, at least for now. They both definitely have their fans, especially Yui.]"_

She smiled again when she saw the blush start to rise on Azusa's face again.

"[_It's OK, Azusa. Cnoc Mor is a safe place for women like us._]"

Mio waited for her kouhai to recover.

"_[Now, let me see your hands,]"_ she ordered.

Azusa was even more flustered by this request, but she held her hands up. Mio inspected them closely, lightly touching the calluses as she did so.

"[_Pretty heavy calluses for such small hands. You must be a serious guitar player. Our band is practicing tomorrow, and we'd love to have you come look us over. But why wait until tomorrow? How about you come down to our suite and meet everyone at our little welcome back party tonight? Ui is invited too, and we wouldn't want to leave you out._]"

Azusa found herself on the receiving end of a heart-winning smile, and she slowly nodded in response to the invitation. Suddenly, she felt a pounding on her back from the nearly-forgotten Ritsu.

"Don't worry, we won't get you drunk or nothin'," the drummer grinned, abruptly switching back to English. "We'll be happy to welcome ya to the family."

Mio looked up at Ritsu and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Sit down Ritsu. The bus is still moving."

* * *

The remainder of the trip went by in a flash for Azusa as she chatted with the bassist and drummer, getting to know them. They told her about how things worked on campus: where to eat and what the routines were, details on registration, and more. Before she knew it, they were off the interstate, and she was craning her neck to check out the view from the windows of her new hometown for the next four years.

"The town of Cnoc Mor, home of Cnoc Mor College." Ritsu stated with mock solemnity. "You are going to love it here Azusa, I promise!" A murmur of agreement came from the few other foreign upperclassmen on the bus.

Azusa was awestruck as she took in the sights of the pretty, rural town. There seemed to be trees and bushes everywhere, and she was charmed by the brick buildings and storefronts, restaurants, benches and parks. It looked like something out of a movie – a perfect little American town. As they approached the Cnoc Mor campus on the east side of town, she could see alabaster white and brick buildings poking out from among the trees up on the top of a big hill. The bus trundled up the access road and stopped in front of a fairly large building that looked like a Bavarian inn, all stone on the first floor, and dark wood crisscrossing over white stucco for the upper three stories.

The students all got off the bus and unloaded their baggage, placing it on the curb. Ritsu's load was the smallest since she wasn't carting around instrument cases – she said something about her drum set being in storage somewhere on campus – so she volunteered to help Azusa and a couple other new frosh to sign in and get their keys. While Azusa was filling out paperwork with the dorm manager, Ritsu disappeared upstairs with her own bags. When she came back down, she had two women with her who she introduced to Azusa. Azusa immediately recognized one from them photo Mio had shown her: Hirasawa Yui.

The woman in question was still dressed as she was earlier, and still barefoot as well. When she smiled, Azusa felt like she was being bathed in sunlight. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and a faint heat rising in her cheeks.

_Wow, she's even hotter in person. And single, Mio-senpai said._

Ritsu took the lead to introduce everyone to each other.

"Yui, Mugi, this is a new frosh and Ui's roomie, Azusa Nakano. Azusa, meet Mio's and my awesome friends, roommates, and band mates, Yui Hirasawa and Tsumugi Kotobuki."

With difficulty, Azusa tore her gaze from the grinning Yui and took a closer look at Tsumugi.

She was maybe 5'4", with long slightly wavy blonde hair and big sapphire-blue eyes. She may have had a Japanese name, but Azusa was hard-pressed to see much of anything Japanese about her. She was dressed a white sun dress and Birkenstocks, and was nearly as curvy as the tall bassist she met earlier.

_And that makes it five for five. I'll have to have a girlfriend if I'm hanging with this group or I'll go crazy._

Tsumugi bowed to Azusa in greeting.

"[_Nice to meet you Azusa-chan. Please, call me Mugi.]"_

Azusa was immediately impressed.

_Not only is her Japanese perfect, she sounds so elegant and demure!_

Azusa's gaze shifted back to the far less elegant and demure guitarist.

"I am pleased to meet you both." She bowed at the waist to them out of habit.

Azusa was caught flatfooted when Yui promptly scooped her up in a hug.

"Welcome to CMC! You're going to have a blast!"

It was embarrassing to be hugged in front of everyone like that, but Yui didn't seem to be inclined to let her go. Azusa started blushing yet again, wondering in the back of her mind if her facial capillaries might be getting too much of a workout that day. After several seconds, the surprise wore off, and she began trying to struggle out of Yui's embrace.

"_[Gah! Let me go, already!]"_

Yui let Azusa go and smiled brightly at her.

"Oh, she's just like a little kitty! Can we keep her?"

With a big cat-ate-the-canary grin on her face, Ritsu drawled, "She plays a Mustang, Yui. So yeah, we just might keep her."

Azusa was confused for a moment, but what Ritsu seemed to be saying finally filtered in. She nodded, looking around at the upperclassmen.

"I am music major, yes. Play guitar well. Mio-san invited Azu…um, me to your practice tomorrow."

_Oh crap, I hope I don't sound like an idiot. My English was…_

"Perfect!" Yui squealed. She threw her arms around Azusa again. Mewling like a cat in surprise, the tiny kouhai went stiff in Yui's arms for a moment before smiling a little and relaxing.

_I might be able to get used to this, actually. _

Surprisingly, Yui let her go after only a few seconds.

"Let's get all your stuff to your room, little kitten! I know right where it is, and I'll introduce you to my sister."

Azusa didn't at all care for being called a kitten again, but since it was Yui, she decided to let it slide. All the girls pitched in and carried up Azusa's belongings, except Ritsu, who had the rest of Mio's bags.

"You even sound like a kitten, you know?" Yui grinned. Azusa hoped silently that the meowing noise would quickly be forgotten.

They headed up to a fourth-floor two-woman room with Yui in the lead. She took them at a forced march pace, and it was all Azusa and Mugi could do to keep up.

When they arrived, Azusa took a moment to take stock of the room. It was a bit more luxurious than she was expecting, almost like a hotel room. A bathroom was to the left of the entrance. An ironing board stood tucked in a nook beside the bathroom door, and there was a small refrigerator nearby.

The room itself was furnished identically along both sides. Matching twin-sized beds had their heads against the outside wall. By the foot of each bed there was a desk with a chair. A dresser stood between each desk and bed. There was a large window in the middle of the far wall between the two beds. Along the wall between the living area and the bathroom were two spacious closets.

_This pretty spacious for two women. It's easily sixteen tatami mats. Hard to tell with the furniture in it, though. My room at home was only six tatami._

There was a girl in the room, and when they entered she stood up from bags she was unpacking into one of the dressers. Azusa noted absently that both beds were made, and the area on the left looked pretty well unpacked already.

_She looks even cuter than her photograph. I will definitely need a girlfriend…that or lots of extra time in the shower._

"Ui! Found your roommate!" Yui crowed as she dumped Azusa's bags by the bed on the right. Azusa came behind her with both her guitars and Mugi followed with her gear box and practice amp. Azusa noticed that there was already a guitar case in the room, and she smiled as she put her own case down.

She stepped over to her new roommate and held out her right hand.

"I am Azusa Nakano. Please take care of me from now on."

Ui bowed instead of taking her hand, and greeted her in excellent Japanese.

"[_I am Hirasawa Ui. Please take care of me as well_.]"

They smiled at each other, and then laughed at the reversed greetings. Yui immediately hugged Ui tightly, and then hugged Azusa once more for good measure before the younger woman had a thought to try to escape it, if she truly wanted to. Then Yui traipsed back out of the room like some sort of force of nature.

Mugi bowed to Ui and smiled gently.

"It's really good to see you again, Ui-chan."

Mugi nodded towards Ui's guitar.

"Come down when you get unpacked, both of you. Ui, please bring your guitar. I'm dying to hear you play it."

Ui smiled warmly at Mugi and nodded in return. Azusa could see more than a faint flush on her roommate's cheeks.

"Certainly, Mugi. It's really good to see you again. We'll be down in an hour or so."

Mugi smiled once more at them, and left. With that, Ui and Azusa were alone, and they turned their attention to unpacking.

* * *

"Is your sister always like that, Ui-san?" Azusa said as she started arranging her belongings on her side of the room.

Ui pondered the question for a minute before answering with another question.

"Can I ask you something personal, Azusa-san?"

She turned to her roommate with a soft smile on her face, hands clasped in front of her.

Azusa closed a dresser drawer and turned to face Ui, feeling suddenly nervous. She wondered what was on Ui's mind, but nodded her assent.

"Sure, go ahead."

Ui took a deep a breath before speaking again.

"Azusa-san, how do you feel about girls dating other girls?"

_Crap! Am I setting off everyone's gaydar today, or what?_

Azusa took a deep breath of her own. Knowing that Mio had hinted that Ui was probably at least bisexual, she felt much less nervous about answering her roommate than she had on the bus.

"I do like girls that way, Ui-san. I hope it does not upset you to share a room with me."

Ui herself seemed to let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"No, no, I'm the same," she said with a relieved smile. "I'm glad you're that way, too. It'll make things easier, you think? Anyway, I brought this up because my sister only hugs people she really likes."

"You mean…" Azusa said with a blink as she attempted to process what Ui was saying. After a moment, she turned away and pulled out her desk chair and sat down heavily.

_This is really complicated. I'd better switch to Japanese to make sure I understand her completely._

"_[Ui-san, are you telling me your sister is hitting on me?]"_ she asked in disbelief.

Ui shrugged.

"_[Onee-san might not even realize she's doing it,]" _she replied._ "[She acts on instinct a lot. I have no idea what she might do, because this has never really happened before.]"_

Azusa pondered this.

"_[She's never hit on another girl?]"_

Ui shook her head.

"_[She gets hit on, but I've never seen her take the initiative before. She usually just goes with the flow. It's unusual she would start hugging someone she just met. She might be attracted to you, but I doubt she realizes it herself. You might want to think twice before you go down. You had a long flight. Maybe a shower will help you relax? _]

Azusa thought for a moment, then shrugged and went back to unpacking.

"[_I haven't dated anyone for over a year, so it's been a long time since anyone's paid attention to me like this. Your sister is…_]"

She paused a moment and blushed slightly. She wondered just how many times had she blushed today. It felt like her cheeks had been red since she got on the shuttle bus at the airport.

_I can't tell Ui I think her sister is totally hot. It'd be too weird. I've got to play this cool until I figure out what's going on._

She paused to clear her throat.

"_[…I'll admit I find Yui-senpai…very interesting, Ui-san.]"_

She turned to look at the younger Hirasawa sister, her gaze dead serious. Ui looked up from her packing, looking back at Azusa with calm reassurance.

"_[It's okay, Azusa-san. The fact that Onee-san is so drawn to you says a lot about you. So don't worry.]"_

Those unassuming light brown eyes were so warm, Azusa found herself comforted. She smiled back at Ui.

"_[Mio-sempai said that you were a nice girl and that I'd like you. She was right. Thank you.]"_

Ui beamed in response, then switched back to English.

"I think we're going to get along just fine," she declared.

Azusa nodded, and without further talk the two girls resumed unpacking. As she worked, Azusa took stock of the day so far.

_This is what you were hoping for, wasn't it, Azusa? Being accepted for who you are instead of judged for it…making friends who are just like you…and maybe…what? Love? I'm so glad I came here. _

* * *

An hour or so later, after Azusa had showered and changed into jeans and a loose Fender t-shirt, Ui texted Mugi that they were about to head downstairs. A minute or so later they went, with Ui carrying her guitar case.

Soon, Azusa found herself in the suite of Ui's sister and her band mates. The main room seemed to be similar to their room upstairs, but instead of a bathroom there was a kitchenette, and instead of the closets there was an entertainment center with a TV. There was a table near the window at the back, with four chairs around it, and the area in between was much like a living room, with a couch, a small table, and a couple of soft chairs.

_How luxurious. They get a room the size of ours just for shared living space._

In the room were all four of the sophomore girls, who rose to greet them. Azusa braced herself to be hugged, and she wasn't disappointed. She didn't fight it this time. In fact, it felt so good that she relaxed into Yui's embrace, softly whimpering in her throat. The others in the room did not miss this, and even if Yui was oblivious, Azusa sensed four sets of eyes watching them intently.

_Oh, God, that felt so nice. If she keeps this up, I'll need to change my underwear more often, though. And I'm blushing again. What is that, the umpteenth time today? I just can't seem to help it…_

As soon as Yui released her, she bowed to the others.

"Thank you for having me here, and for treating me so well."

A few voices cheerfully dismissed her humble greeting, saying it was really no big deal. After a moment, Mugi spoke up.

"I want to hear Ui-chan play!"

"Right, and I want to hear Azusa here play," Ritsu added as Ui uncased her Taylor 514CE. "You mind letting her try it out, Ui?"

Ui stood up with the beautiful spruce topped mahogany guitar in her hands and nodded.

"Sure," she agreed. Walking to Azusa, she handed the Taylor to her with a smile. "Play us a song, Azusa."

Azusa took the guitar with great care. Taylor acoustics were very expensive, and this was one of the high-end models from that maker. American made and all solid wood, it was the choice of professional folk and country singers worldwide. This model was a cutaway, making the lower end of the frets more easily accessible. It also meant it had the premium Taylor pickups built into it so it was easy to amplify. It was one of the top production acoustic guitars available; the only better acoustics were custom made.

She seated herself at one of the dining room chairs, facing the couches. After tuning the guitar, she did a few finger exercises on it to get the feel of the instrument, and then she looked at the audience with a smile.

"This song means a lot to me."

She looked back down at the frets and started tapping her foot to get her timing. She started to play, her small hands and fingers dancing along the frets in a finger a finger-style rendition of a Lennon-McCartney classic, _Blackbird_. Her voice, while ill-suited for rock vocals, had a tremulous quality that fit this particular song well. She let the intricate guitar line flow from her fingers and out through the Taylor, while her voice transmitted the lyrics straight from her heart.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night/Take these broken wings and learn to fly..."_

She looked around the room, making eye contact with each woman in turn as she played. Last of all, she felt Yui's eyes on her. Meeting the brunette's gaze, she poured her heart into the song.

"_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see..._"

Azusa knew she was singing for five people, in an impromptu audition at that, but she found herself focusing on the one person she thought had the capacity to nurture her lonely heart, reaching to her through the song. She didn't know if this was right, but it seemed that she was running on the same kind of instinct as Yui.

_If we fell in love, I just know she wouldn't hurt me._

She dropped her gaze to the frets as she launched into one of the more difficult passages, not wanting to a single note of this song to be out of place. After a playing for several bars, she looked up again and searched out those same eyes, and found they were shining now with unshed tears. Had she truly reached Yui?

"_All your life/You were only waiting for this moment to arise..."_

Azusa brought it home, taking it from the complex to the simple, a last pattering of a few soft notes, and finishing with a slide along the wound strings that echoed a with light buzz. She damped the strings and looked up at the five women who were listening. Everyone was silent for a moment before breaking into light applause. Everyone except Yui, that is, who seemed on the verge of tears.

Azusa rose and handed Ui her guitar back with a smile.

"Wonderful instrument, Ui-san. I'm jealous."

"You played well, Azusa-san," Ui said as took the Taylor back with a bit of a bemused expression.

"It was so easy to play," Azusa enthused. "I would love to hear you play it, Ui-san."

The pony-tailed brunette glanced at Mugi questioningly.

"I want to hear you play, too," the blonde seconded, smiling serenely. Azusa caught the flush that crept onto Ui's cheeks in response.

As Ui sat in the chair that Azusa had just vacated and started changing the tuning of the guitar to match the song she wanted to play, the twin-ponytailed guitarist crossed the room, looking for a place to sit.

Yui rose to meet her, and wrapped her in a hug the younger girl didn't even pretend to resist. Yui spoke softly into Azusa's ear as she held her gently for a few moments. Her Japanese was as good as her sister's, Azusa found.

"_[Azusa-chan, that was so beautiful.]" _

"[_Thank you, Yui-senpai,_]" she whispered back before pulling away.

"_[I want you to audition for us tomorrow. We'll let you know the details.]"_

Azusa nodded her assent to the offer.

She turned to look for a seat, but Yui tugged her arm to guide her to a seat on the couch between herself and Mugi. Presently, Ui launched into a finger-style display that put Azusa to shame, a complex rendition of _Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring _that truly showed off Ui's technical skills.

When Ui finished her song to a round of applause, everyone complimented her on her playing. To Azusa's approval, Ui took the compliments with humility.

The group took a break for refreshments. Azusa sampled the various American snacks the upperclassmen had provided, including pretzels, some kind of corn chips with salsa (which was a new experience for her, although certainly tasty), cheese, and some cut-up fruit. Yui did more than "try" them, seemingly intent on vacuuming them all up.

"Mmmm…Azusa, save room for pizza!" she said between bites. "We already have it ordered."

Azusa's mind boggled a bit at this statement, considering how much Yui had already eaten and was continuing to eat. But Ritsu laughed.

"Yeah, I'd say the same for you, Yui, but we all know better," the drummer commented. "We ordered a pizza just for you. Ham, pineapple and anchovies, right?"

Yui gave a thumbs-up to that while she swilled some diet soda to wash down her latest round of snacks.

"We know our little piggy…Ow! What was that for?" Ritsu rubbed her head, looking at Mio with an injured expression. Her girlfriend said nothing, fixed the drummer with a glare that silenced her momentarily.

Azusa noticed the tall bassist was the quietest by far of the four upperclassmen, saying little except for when she felt the need to keep Ritsu in line. In a group, she seemed withdrawn, and a bit shy. It made Azusa appreciate all the more how Mio had gone out of her way to befriend her on the bus earlier.

Mugi leaned forward to catch Yui's eye.

"Can you stop eating long enough to show our new frosh what you can do, Yui?"

Yui grinned and moved to take the Taylor from her younger sister, complimenting her honestly on her playing before she took the same seat herself.

Azusa watched intently as Yui tuned the instrument. She noticed that Yui didn't seem to be using the electronic tuner that she and Ui had used, and worked quickly with one ear turned toward the guitar.

_I wonder if she has perfect pitch? I shouldn't be surprised at a school like this, though. These guys are all bound to be talented if they made it into Cnoc Mor._

Yui pulled a slide out of her pocket, installed it on her left pinkie, and began to play. Azusa's jaw dropped open as listened. The brunette was an amazing technician. The song was one Azusa was familiar with: Leo Kottke's _Vaseline Machine Gun_. It was designed as a tour-de-force for the twelve-string, but on a six it still demanded an advanced level of slide and finger control that Yui obviously had down pat.

There was no mistaking that Yui belonged at Cnoc Mor as a music major. Azusa was deeply impressed with the ease with which she played the wickedly difficult piece. She was more enthralled with the look on her senpai's face as she played, though. Gone was the air-headed woman of just a few minutes earlier. The concentration showed on her furrowed brow, and her joy showed in the happy smile on her face. She was relaxed, but had an air of competence. Azusa couldn't look away.

_I know I've got to be blushing again. Wow. I want her to look at me like that._

As Yui finished with a flourish, everyone applauded. With almost perfect timing, almost as soon as she was done the pizza arrived. True to Ritsu's word, there was no alcohol, but diet sodas were being downed in copious quantities. It was a fair bit different than a gathering like this would probably be like in Japan, where likely everyone would be drunk already.

To Azusa's amazement, Yui ate nearly an entire large pizza on her own, except for one slice Azusa managed to talk her into giving up. American-style pizza was a new experience for her. She'd never had anything quite like it. Certainly what was sold as pizza in Japan was nowhere near the same. She decided she liked the American version better.

As she listened to the conversation, Azusa was able to pick up more details on everyone's origins. She found out that Mugi had triple citizenship. Having been born in America of a Finnish national mother and a Japanese national father (whom she gathered was of mixed ancestry himself), she was able to retain citizenship in all three countries. It also explained to Azusa why this woman spoke such good Japanese. Apparently, she had spent a lot of time in Japan, and was partly raised there.

Azusa also saw very clearly that Mugi focused most of her attention on Ui. Judging by the tinges of pink on her roommate's cheeks, Ui did not at all object.

_I'm no math major, but something seems to be adding up here._

Mio and Ritsu turned out to be from the Kantou region, and Yui and Ui were first generation Japanese-Americans from New Jersey. To Azusa's disappointment, Yui didn't return to the couch, but instead got caught up in a conversation with Mio and Ritsu about music classes.

Before too long, Azusa's jet lag caught up with her, and she could no longer fight her urge to yawn. Ui immediately picked up on her being tired, and suggested it was time they headed up to bed.

When the younger women excused themselves, Yui hopped to her feet, insisting on walking them to their room. As they paused outside the door, Yui gave her sister a quick hug.

"You two go ahead and talk," Ui urged. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

Ui gave Azusa a quick wink before slipping into their room and closing the door. Azusa turned back to her senpai, who was looking at her with barely contained excitement.

"Azusa, I can't wait for your audition tomorrow!" She hugged the younger girl tightly once more, causing her to mewl involuntarily again. "Aww. You even sound like a kitten."

Yui's mouth was right next to her ear. Azusa could feel her breath as she spoke, and it made her pulse race.

"Fly with me, little kitten," Yui whispered. "I've been waiting so long for someone who can fly with me."

She let go, and Azusa stood frozen in place, unable to respond. All she could do was gaze into those eyes.

"I can't wait to hear you on that Mustang!" Yui continued. "I've got a feeling we can make beautiful music together."

And like a fast-moving breeze, the energetic upperclassman was gone, leaving Azusa weak in the knees.

_Oh, kami-sama. I want her so badly. _

Azusa went into the room and got ready for bed. Her mind was racing. She turned Yui's words over and over again in her head.

_Fly with me…_

Was Yui simply looking for another guitarist to play alongside her, or did she want something more?

Despite the thoughts bouncing around in her head, Azusa was exhausted enough that she fell asleep easily. A certain brown-haired guitarist haunted her dreams, though. Her smile, her serious expression while playing, her goofy grin, the way she smelled, the warmth of her body against Azusa's.

Azusa didn't remember any dreams that night, but she was sure they were wonderful.

* * *

**A/N - **Over 9,000 words now with notes. Without your help, Genki Collective, I would not have come this far. Little did I know just how bad my grammar was, and the help you offered with plot development was invaluable. This story would not be where it is without you. Thank you!


	2. A Forest Of Lights

Setting: This is an AU setting where the circumstances of our favorite _K-On!_ girls are markedly different from canon. In this universe, the original four girls met for the first time at a private women's college in the United States, and the ones a year younger have arrived and everyone is getting settled into college life.

Notes: I represent internal dialogue as _italics_, English as "simply quoted" and Japanese as "_[bracketed_ _italics_ _inside_ _quotation_ _marks]._"

I don't own _K-On!_. I am using characters from that work without permission, but I am not using them for profit. I promise.

**American** **Style,** **Chapter** **2** – **A** **Forest** **of** **Lights**

The morning sun flooded Azusa and Ui's dorm room, coloring the plain walls with refracted yellows and golds. Azusa rolled over and covered her eyes for a few moments before realizing that further sleep was useless and she wondered if all the freshman rooms were east facing like this one. Someone had to have done this on purpose, she mused, she doubted that the blinds installed on the window would do much to mute it, either.

_Added_ _incentive_ _for_ _new_ _frosh_ _to_ _get_ _out_ _of_ _bed_ _and_ _get_ _to_ _class._

She didn't notice the sound of the shower running until it suddenly stopped; a glance at the bed across from her confirmed that her roommate was already awake. Azusa would have been content to wait, but a biological urge was becoming pressing as she was becoming more alert.

Azusa rolled out of bed and stretched, then moved to the bathroom door, knocking softly. "[_Ui-san._ _I_ _need_ _to_ _use_ _the_ _toilet._]"

She hated to be rude like that, but she'd be sharing a room with this girl for nearly a year, and she was certain that her roommate would appreciate a puddle on the floor even less than being hurried out of the bathroom.

To her relief the door opened almost immediately, revealing Ui in an oversized pink terrycloth bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel. As usual Ui had a soft smile at the ready, seeming composed and ladylike even dressed like that.

_I_ _wonder_ _if_ _her_ _sister_ _looks_ _anything_ _like_ _this_ _in_ _the_ _morning._

"[_Good_ _morning,_ _Azusa-san!_ _Why_ _don't_ _you_ _get_ _ready_ _and_ _we'll_ _head_ _downstairs_ _for_ _breakfast?_ _Since_ _our_ _dorm_ _houses_ _foreign_ _students,_ _the_ _cafeteria_ _is_ _already_ _running_ _for_ _the_ _semester._]"

Azusa stood to one side to let Ui out, so she could take her place in the bathroom. "[_Sure,_ _ah..._ _is_ _it_ _ok_ _if_ _I_ _call_ _you_ _Ui-chan?_]" Ui indicated assent as the door closed "[_Give_ _me_ _a_ _few_ _minutes_ _Ui-chan,_ _I_ _washed_ _my_ _hair_ _last_ _night,_ _so_ _it_ _won't_ _take_ _me_ _long._]"

"[_Sure_ _thing_ _Azusa-chan!_ _I'll_ _be_ _ready_ _when_ _you_ _are,_ _and_ _we'll_ _go_ _down_ _together.]_"

* * *

In short order (no pun intended) they were headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Azusa still felt groggy, even though she was sure she got enough sleep, so she blindly followed Ui down.

_This_ _must_ _be_ _jet_ _lag,_ _I_ _feel_ _like_ _I_ _got_ _up_ _in_ _the_ _middle_ _of_ _the_ _night_ _to_ _go_ _to_ _the_ _bathroom_ _or_ _something._ _My_ _body_ _just_ _doesn't_ _believe_ _I_ _plan_ _on_ _being_ _up_ _all_ _day._ _Heck,_ _I_ _can't_ _believe_ _it_ _myself._

Azusa winced, placing her hand between her eyes and the morning sun as their route took them past another east facing window. The pain was like the proverbial 'thousand needles in your eye'.

_Is_ _this_ _what_ _a_ _hangover_ _feels_ _like?_

She and Ui caught up with the other girls, Yui being noticeably absent. While both Mugi and Mio were wearing jeans and light tops, Ritsu, on the other hand, was another story.

_I_ _wonder_ _if_ _she_ _is_ _one_ _of_ _those_ _people_ _who_ _wear_ _shorts,_ _sandals_ _and_ _a_ _sweat_ _top_ _in_ _the_ _winter?_

"I'll have to lure her out of bed with Pop Tarts." Mugi reported of Yui, patting a foil pack of toaster pastries.

Azusa giggled, picturing her luring Yui out of bed with the pastries much as you might catch a fish.

Breakfast was simple in the dorm cafeteria, sort of like a hotel breakfast. They had a waffle maker, some fruit and a choice of cold cereals. Azusa opted for a crunchy cereal that she didn't recognize the name of, and a banana.

_Mueslix?_ _German,_ _I_ _suppose._ _Truly_ _this_ _is_ _an_ _international_ _dorm._

Ritsu watched the freshman eat with a big grin on her face. Azusa noticed that her sempai tended to play with her food before eating it. Right now she was submerging cereal in milk with her spoon.

"We'll be setting up this morning, why don't you bring down your guitar to the practice room when we get done here?" Ritsu drawled to the younger woman, a sly little smile on her face, a spoonful of some colorful cereal soaked in milk halfway to her mouth and dripping.

"Will Yui-senpai be there?" Azusa inquired without thinking.

Ritsu grinned and held up her pinkie in a well known obscene Japanese gesture. "Oh, looking forward to seeing Yui are we? What is she calling you? Kitten? Pet names already?" Moments later Ritsu was nursing a sore spot on the back of her head, glancing in Mio's direction.

Azusa looked at Ritsu, her hands in her lap clenched into fists, blushing and fuming at the same time.

The tall dark haired bombshell smiled faintly at Azusa. "Mugi-chan will wake her up; we'll all be down there in about an hour. Practice room 3, in the basement." Mio looked over to Ui and smiled. "If you want, you are more than welcome to come and listen too, Ui-chan."

"Thanks, Mio-san!" Ui chirped, while Azusa stuttered her own assent after being embarrassed by Ritsu.

Ritsu rubbed her head and shrugged, still grinning. "Sorry Azusa-chan, just teasing." She then dug into her second bowl of well drowned fruit loops.

She wasn't sure how she liked this American breakfast, it didn't seem very proper, but, she supposed it was reasonably fast for college students.

When she and Ui got back to the dorm room, Ui took a moment to soothe her. "Please, don't mind Ritsu-san, Azusa-chan. She doesn't mean anything by it, it's just that everyone can tell you like Nee-chan and she was just teasing you. "

"I am that obvious?" Azusa moaned and buried her head in her hands.

"I'm not sure anyone was really thinking that way, please don't be angry with them." Azusa let out a sigh and sat up, moving to get her guitar and gear ready to go. "It's not like there is anything really going on."

_But_ _a_ _girl_ _can_ _hope._

"No, Azusa-chan, don't worry about it. Mio-sempai will have her straightened out by the time you see them next."

Azusa chuckled at that. "She's the dominant one in the relationship?"

Ui seemed thoughtful a moment, then shrugged. "At least when it comes to manners."

* * *

An hour later and Azusa was carrying her Mustang downstairs to the practice room, and Ui her effects box. She figured out which room it was easily enough from a few chance strings of synth and some drumbeats coming from inside through the slightly open door. She saw drum cases and gear sitting just outside in the hall. The young woman paused to examine a couple pairs of Cerwin Vega cabinets several sizes bigger than her, and a pair of three ways.

_Those_ _loudspeakers_ _are_ _enough_ _to_ _fill_ _a_ _decent_ _sized_ _auditorium._ _Cool._

Azusa paused outside the room, hearing a few random drumbeats and the sound of a bass tuning. From what she could make of the sounds, Mio must have been tuning it off Mugi's synthesizer. She pushed the heavy door open the rest of the way with help of her shoulder and looked around. Everyone was there. She and Ui entered with her stuff in as everyone waved them over.

"Hey, Azusa!" "Welcome, Azusa-chan!" Greeted Mugi and Mio respectively, the former behind her keyboard and the latter holding a bass. As she had guessed, Mugi was helping Mio to tune her bass from the notes on the keyboard.

Azusa didn't expect what happened next. Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind, a face nuzzling her hair, guitar and all.

"Azu RE-charge!" her body stiffened for a moment, then relaxed slightly as she stood there blushing, still holding on her case while Yui pinned her arms to her sides from behind for what seems like a long time. Finally, Yui released her from her grasp and moved around to where she could see her face and grinned brightly. "I am so looking forward to playing with you today, Azusa-chan!"

Yui blinked a few times as she took in sight of the red faced freshman and her grin widened. "I have just the thing." She said scampering off.

Azusa tried to get a grip on herself and moved towards the soundboard and pre-amp stack, putting down her guitar case and opening the effects box that Ui provided, she started laying it out and plugging it up.

As she got set up and got the pedals ready, she felt something being put on her head, fingers lightly brushing the tops of her ears. She turned around to look at Yui again, a puzzled look plain upon her face. She could feel the heat in her face as a blush started to rise again into her cheeks at the familiar touch.

_Indignation_ _w_arred with the warm pleasant feeling that spread out in her body.

"Do this, Azusa-chan!" Yui made a pawing motion with her hand and went "_Nyaaaa_". She grinned brilliantly once more and gestured to Azusa. "C'mon, it'll be great!"

Azusa felt confused and flustered by the touch, and repeated the gesture, still kneeling on the floor. She wasn't sure why she did it, but the look on Yui's face was a reward in itself.

_That_ _big_ _goofy_ _grin._ _I_ _like_ _having_ _it_ _directed_ _at_ _me,_ _it's_ _like_ _a_ _warm_ _bath._ _It_ _feels_ _so_ _good._ "Do it again, remember the _nyaaaaa_!" Yui pleaded, turning the full force of her magnetic smile upon Azusa, who found herself unable to resist it.

_Oh_ _no,_ _they_'_re_ _cat_ _ears,_ _they_ _have_ _to_ _be!_ _But,_ _I_ _don't_ _think_ _I_ _care._ _I_ _love_ _that_ _smile._

Azusa blushed deeper, if even possible, and pawed the air while going "_Nyaaaaa_".

An electronic flash went off and Azusa glanced up to see Mugi holding an Iphone much like her own.

_Photographic_ _evidence,_ _great._ _This_ _better_ _be_ _worth_ _it..._

She was rewarded with a huge hug from Yui, the embrace washing away any misgivings from her. She felt the soft warmth of Yui's cheek against hers, and the warmth spread down into her chest to nest there. "Azunyan! That's your nickname, 'cause you are my kitten!"

Azusa looked mortified, she now knew with absolute certainty that those were cat ears on her head. That and that Yui smelled kinda nice. The second realization was winning against the first. That 'my kitten' ringing in her head pleasantly. She liked that 'my' part a lot.

_You've_ _got_ _it_ _bad,_ _girl._

After what seemed like a long time, she groaned and tried to get free, pushing rather feebly and twisting. "Can we play now?"

"We _are_ playing, Azunyan!" Yui pulled back enough to level that thousand watt grin at her. She almost gave in, but she felt her indignation rise.

"Music. Music! I want to play music!" Azusa got free of Yui's strong hold and turned a terribly angry countenance on Yui, who had the most adorable look on her face. She guessed belatedly that a temper tantrum while wearing cat ears didn't do much for her case. The twin-tailed girl tried to avoid it this time, but was too off balance emotionally to physically dodge Yui's attention and was soon scooped into another hug.

"Sorry, Azunyan, don't be angry." She felt the cat ears coming off her head, and Yui's soft touch smoothing her hair. Just like that she deflated.

_Yeah,_ _I_ _got_ _it_ _real_ _bad._

"Can I do my audition now, Yui-senpai?" Yui let her go, put her hands on Azusa's shoulders and looked at her critically, then nodded. "I won't go easy on you because you are cute, kitten." She winked at her and grinned slightly.

Azusa returned the grin. "Bring it on, senpai." She moved to get her guitar out and started tuning it from her electronic tuner built into her gear box.

While doing so, Yui gave Mugi a thumbs up. "Send me that picture, Moogs! It's my new desktop background!"

_I_ _hate_ _it,_ _but_ _I_ _love_ _it,_ _too._ _Gack._

Everyone's attention shifted from the show Yui and Azusa were making to finish setting up and tuning, soon enough they were ready to play.

"OK, Azunyan, lay some wild stuff on me. I want to hear you shred." Yui put her earplugs in and handed Azusa a set, just holding her guitar lightly at the neck, resting on its sling. Azusa glanced at the huge Gibson Les Paul Signature that Yui wielded.

_Wow,_ _she_ _handles_ _that_ _big_ _axe?_

Azusa shrugged it off and with a smirk she took a wide stance, then leaned over her Fender Mustang letting it rip; running from super fast scales to tapping, hammering on and off, bending and distortion play. Somewhere in there she channeled some Eddie Van Halen, some Eric Clapton, and some 'damn that's cool'.

After she finished everyone stood still, stunned, except Yui who went from critically watching her to wearing a huge grin. "I knew you had the stuff! Okay, let's see if we can find a song you know well enough to play lead. Japanese bands, American? We can do _Shoujo_ _S_, for instance?"

Azusa shrugs. "Every girl musician in Japan can do _Shoujo_ _S_. If that is what you want, I'm game. You guys know Clapton's Layla, by any chance?"

Yui looked up at the others, who shrugged. Mugi was the one to answer. "Azusu-chan, how about we do _Shoujo_ _S_ for the audition, then go over Layla and do it in say, 15 or 20?"

Azusa nodded, impressed by the skill of these women. If they can pick up a song like Layla that fast, that would be amazing. This might be the best she'd ever played with, if it was true.

_It_ _really_ _is_ _like_ _a_ _dream_ _come_ _true._ _An_ _amazingly_ _talented_ _band_ _who_ _wants_ _me_ _to_ _be_ _a_ _member,_ _and_ _they_ _know_ _and_ _embrace_ _my_ _sexual_ _preference._ _And_ _there_ _is_ _so_ _much_ _more_ _to_ _it._ _I_ _can_'_t_ _stop_ _this_ _feeling_ _of_ _happiness_ _that_ _is_ _taking up residence_ _in_ _my_ _heart._

"Okay, _Shoujo_ _S_, want me on lead or rhythm?"

Yui grinned warmly at Azusa and bowed slightly. "Mighty Azunyan, take the lead, please!"'

_I_ _hope_ _I_'_m_ _not_ _stuck_ _with_ _that_ _ridiculous_ _nickname._

Azusa took a look around and arched her eyebrows at the statuesque Mio who was wielding a Fender Jazz 5-string, a lefty one at that. She took note that on a stand behind her sat what at first glance seemed to be a standard Fender P Bass, but Azusa caught the light off it and realized it was a much rarer fretless model leftie.

_Cool,_ _she_'_s_ _a_ _leftie,_ _and_ _plays_ _fretless._

Azusa then turned to look at Ritsu who was holding up four fingers, then after a moment dropped her hand and with a snap of her drumsticks she lead them into the song.

The ensemble played the song credibly well, they even sung it well. Azusa dropped into the groove, never having performed this song like this, but she had certainly played it before. In less than five minutes they came to the end and Azusa found herself just a few feet from Yui. The brunette had danced the entire song enthusiastically, while playing the rhythm part. She was everywhere, like some kind of energizer bunny.

_She_ _has_ _so_ _much_ _energy,_ _she_ _puts_ _out_ _such_ _a_ _vibe_ _when_ _she_ _is_ _singing_ _and_ _playing._ _It_ _feeds_ _the_ _rest_ _of_ _us_ _too,_ _making_ _us_ _work_ _harder,_ _play_ _better._ _She_'_s_ _awful_ _cute_ _when_ _she_ _is_ _doing_ _it_ _too,_ _it_ _makes_ _me_ _want_ _to_…

Yui smiled at her softly. Moving closer, she carefully hugged the smaller woman around the neck so their guitars didn't rub against each other.

"Yeah; that's what I'm looking for, Azunyan." The smile widened slightly for a moment and her voice got softer while holding Azusa's gaze. "You are mine." Yui's head tilted slightly to one side and she winked, her voice gaining volume again. "Consider yourself part of our ensemble." The other three clapped, even coming up to pat Azusa's shoulder. The entire time Azusa saw that precious smile from Yui with those big warm eyes; the ones that continued to make her pulse roar.

_I_ _wonder_ _if_ _she_ _has_ _a_ _clue_ _what_ _she_ _is_ _does_ _to_ _me_ _on_ _the_ _inside._ _It_ _doesn_'_t_ _seem_ _like_ _it._ _Maybe_ _she_ _just_ _wants_ _a_ _guitarist._ _But_ _the_ _way_ _she_ _looks_ _at_ _me,_ _it_'_s_ _so_ _intimate._ _And_ _then_ _there_ _are_ _the_ _hugs._ _I_ _mean,_ _she_ _has_ _to_ _like_ _me_ _like_ _that,_ _right?_ _Crap,_ _maybe_ _not._

Mugi pulled up Layla on her laptop and threw it up on a wall with a projector. After doing some adjustments on her keyboard, Mio ran through some bass lines and Ritsu tried a few timings until she was happy with it. Yui just looked the music over for about a minute, her brow furrowing intently, tongue sticking out slightly from between her lips as she concentrated. Really, all she studied was just around a minute, though Azusa was a bit caught up in her own thoughts so it might have been more. Sooner than she would have expected it, Yui turned to Azusa and bathed her in another of those radiant grins.

"Azunyan, your position from now on will be lead guitarist; we'll work out the arrangements today and tomorrow. We have a gig next weekend, and it's not exactly small, maybe two or three hundred gals. You're playing." She grinned that big grin again, and Azusa felt like she was being wrapped in sunlight. It held off her panic of playing her biggest gig ever.

"That's great Yui-senpai. Um, aren't you playing Layla?" Yui nodded in reply. "Don't you have things to do?"

Yui grinned and tapped the side of her head. "I got it. It's all up here!" Azusa looked looked at her astonished before blinking a few times.

_She_'_s_ _either_ _a_ _genius_ _or_ _crazy,_ _maybe_ _both._ _But_ _I_ _love_ _that_ _smile._ _It_'_s_ _like_ _swimming_ _in_ _sunshine;_ _it_ _warms_ _me_ _all_ _the_ _way_ _through._ _It_ _makes_ _me_ _feel_ _special._

She had to make a few changes herself. While she changed the tuning on her guitar a little and checked her pedals, Yui watched her, an amused look on her face. "Don't you find that Les Paul heavy, Yui-senpai?"

"Nah, Azunyan, I love my Gitah." Azusa wondered briefly if that was some kind of accent she heard, but decided to dismiss it. "Oh. Is everyone about ready?"

Azusa looked around and everyone gave a thumbs up. Ritsu grinned, and with a few starting snaps of her sticks brought in the groove of the song, starting right on Azusa's shoulders.

Azusa easily ripped into the first lead lick, and her heart soared when Yui joined her on the complimentary line, the sounds of their guitars weaving around each other until Mio started with the vocals.

The raven haired girl's voice had that smoky flavor the song needed. It wasn't Clapton, but it sure was appealing. The sound of Mugi's Triton added volume to the rhythm of the guitars and bass, filling the sound out. Ritsu's drumming was energetic and on the money.

Yui didn't dance around as much with this one, but kept her eyes on Azusa as their guitars sang the lead melodies of the entrancing song around each other like a sultry dance of electricity. The sound was smooth and buttery and Azusa felt like it was seeping into her veins. She looked at Yui in return, who swayed her hips, her fingers smoothly dancing on the big Gibson. It was like they were making love to each other through the breathtaking beats their instruments produced.

Azusa dropped into a low open legged stance about three minutes in and really let the solo fly. Clapton never played the same solo twice on this song, and hers was near the same level of adaptive, always returning to the main theme for a moment before taking off again. For a full minute she played until she faced Mugi. As the solo faded, the rich tone of the Korg took over for nearly a minute, easing the hard tone of the song into melody. She and Yui hit new pedals and joined in to add to Mugi's sound after a few measures, but not taking over until the bridge. It was like sitting in the back seat while someone else was driving a luxury car.

After another minute Azusa took control back with another smooth matching solo, leading the band back into a heavy climax.

"Now _that_ was awesome!" Yui crowed. "We could have never pulled that one off with just me!" She bounced around a bit in glee. "This is what we were missing!"

She bounced back and hugged Azusa again, still excited.

Mio handed the guitarists some printed music sheets. "Okay, here is first of the set for next weekend. We'll start with our arrangement of Orianthi's _Kiss_ _Me_; courtesy of our rhythm guitarist's infatuation with her." Yui shot a peace sign in response. "Azusa-chan, you can listen the first time through and then join in on the second try or whenever you feel ready. Then we'll go through the rest of the set like that until we can't take any more. Good?

Do you have a computer?" The young woman nodded in confirmation. "Give Mugi your email address and we'll send you all the arrangements you need to look over. We were hoping to add another guitarist this semester so I already re-arranged the sets for that. Work with Yui this week to iron it out." Mio gave Azusa an affectionate smile. "You can handle it, Azusa-chan.

"Okay, now is everyone ready?" Mio looked around and after getting everyone's affirmation, practice was launched. It was, on all counts, a grueling affair but Azusa was on cloud nine.

_These_ _women_ _are_ _awesome!_ _Professional,_ _talented,_ _flexible,_ _and dedicated._

She was falling in love with playing all over again, thanks to them. She was sure it was better than sex, not that she was an expert at that exactly.

All throughout practice Yui played with an eye firmly on Azusa, adapting to her, improvising as needed, and syncing with her whenever she should. She thought she began to understand what Yui was talking about earlier. The girl felt both ecstatic and a little disappointed because she was sure Yui wasn't talking about sex or love. She was just looking for a deep artistic bond and Azusa was measuring up to it, in spades. Yui looked like she was in heaven, and Azusa was feeling it too.

By the time they were finished, Azusa had played every song in the set, and everyone was pretty satisfied with how it was turning out. They knew they still had a lot of work to do to get their new lead guitarist fully integrated, but that had been a great first step. After practicing some more, the group took a quick break for lunch, sandwiches on the fly from the cafeteria upstairs and resumed playing. They almost missed dinner, which turned out to be more sandwiches.

When they were all getting ready to crawl upstairs, a tired but happy looking Yui gave Azusa a big, happy, soft hug. "Azunyan, you were everything I hoped for. Don't you dare leave me." She murmured into Azusa's hair.

Azusa smiled and leaned into the hug. "No, I'm yours, Yui-senpai. That was an awesome practice."

_Maybe_ _I_ _can_ _get_ _you_ _to_ _look_ _at_ _me_ _as_ _a_ _woman_ _too,_ _Yui-senpai._ _Please_ _look_ _at_ _me_ _that_ _way._

* * *

Not long after they finished practice, Yui noticed Azusa yawning. The hard practice combined with jet lag, wiped the poor girl out now that her adrenaline levels had dropped.

"Come on Azunyan, I'll walk you up and explain it to the others later. They'll understand, trust me." Yui hugged Azusa's head quickly and smiled softly, then held the younger woman out at arm's length. "You grab your guitar; I'll get your pedals." Yui let go and went to grab Azusa's effects box, then took her hand.

"Come on, sleepyhead." Yui guided her out of the practice studio and upstairs to her room. "Do you have everything you need?" Azusa nodded a little, blushing faintly at the idea of Yui alone with her in her room, then grabbed some pajamas before ducking into the bathroom. She washed up quickly and changed. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding, it was crazy.

_She_ _keeps_ _touching_ _me,_ _and_ _every_ _time_ _she_ _does_ _something_ _inside_ _me_ _yearns_ _for_ _more_ _and_ _more._

When Azusa was done she came back into the room to find Yui sitting at her desk, idly looking at the books. When she heard the bathroom door, she turned and smiled. "Ready to be tucked in, Azunyan?" She had that tender look on her face again and Azusa's pulse raced and her chest felt tight.

"I... don't need help with that." She wore shorts and a t-shirt, her usual attire to sleep in ever since she arrived. It was definitely too hot for flannel in Pennsylvania, and even though the nights were getting down into the 40's F, the dorms were pretty warm.

_I_ _can_'_t_ _believe_ _she_ _said_ _that!_ _I_ _wish..._ _I_ _wish_ _she_'_d_ _do_ _more_ _than_ _tuck_ _me_ _in,_ _though._ _Like_ _join_ _me._

She moved to her bed and sat down where the blankets were turned out. She knew that Yui had done that because her bed was fully tucked in when they arrived. Once Azusa sat down Yui stood and moved towards the door, grinning at her again, her brown eyes dancing in the dimly lit room.

"You were great tonight Azunyan. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. You'll knock 'em dead on Saturday." She said softly.

Azusa smiled, enjoying the warm touch of Yui's voice when it was low, it felt almost silky to her ears. "Thank you... Yui. I... enjoy playing with you."

_Kami-sama,_ _I'm_ _falling_ _in_ _love_ _with_ _her,_ _and_ _I_ _don't_ _think_ _she_ _sees_ _me_ _as_ _more_ _than_ _a_ _musical_ _partner._ _What_ _am_ _I_ _going_ _to_ _do?_

Yui waved lightly and turned off the lights on her way out, a last smile sent in the direction of her tired kohai. The exhaustion from Azusa's full day and the jet lag soon carried her off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, they met again for breakfast. Without Yui. Again. They put in another full day of practice for the gig's set?]. Azusa only counted three hugs during that day. The first one, labeled 'Azunyan recharge', being the longest.

_Now_ _that_ _I_ _know_ _she_ _doesn't_ _mean_ _anything_ _by_ _this,_ _it_ _is_ _starting_ _to_ _annoy_ _me._ _But,_ _it_ _feels_ _so_ _good._ _Dammit._ _Okay,_ _maybe_ _I_ _am_ _not_ _that_ _annoyed._

* * *

On Monday Azusa followed the normal breakfast routine and went with Ui to the special international student freshman orientation. She wasn't required to go, but with Ui's natural mothering tendencies and the fact that she still got lost around campus, she decided to go along with it.

Ui stopped when she heard her last name and turned to look for the person whom it came from, the voice sounding very familiar to her.

"Hirasawa!" As Ui turned to look at the woman calling her name, she started to smile. "Ui! Is that you?"

Azusa looked and saw the grinning gaze of a puffy haired asian on her, her hair mostly reined in a pair of ponytails.

The young woman moved up to Ui, grinning. "Hey, short stuff! Well, not as short as the one next to you. I'm gonna have to find a new nickname for you, Ui." The newcomer had quickly taken a look at Azusa, comparing herself to them both. Jun was easily several inches taller than Ui, and just about towered over the diminutive Azusa.

"You know that's rude, Jun!" Ui put herself a little between the two women, looking first towards her roommate. "Azusa, this is an old friend of mine, Jun Suzuki. She doesn't speak much Japanese; only a few words." She turned to Jun, then and reversed the introduction. "Jun, this is my roommate, Azusa Nakano. She just arrived from Japan, but speaks very good English for never having been abroad before. Please treat her well, and speak a little slower." Ui smiled between them. "So, Jun, it has been a long time. Are you starting school here this semester as well? Both Azusa and I are new freshmen."

Jun gauged the two of them while Azusa watched her. The woman seemed to be a little off balance. "Nice to meet you, Azusa." She said to Azusa before replying to Ui's question. "My dad got a position here three years ago and I'm living with him, so yeah. You don't seem to have changed... I mean... you look good, Ui."

Azusa watched Ui calmly and obviously sized up the taller woman. "You're way taller than me now." She smiled primly, but it broke after a moment into a more genuine smile. "Music major?"

Jun nodded and grinned. "Bass and Guitar, modern studies."

Ui returned the grin without hesitation, and for a moment was the spitting image of her older sister. "Well, my sister is a Sophomore here, and has a full ensemble." She motioned her head to Azusa. "Azusa-san here took their last open position for guitarist."

Jun took another look at Azusa, who was watching the exchange curiously; barely keeping up with the rapid fire Jersey accented English, even if they thought they had slowed it down for her. "Short stuff here is taken already?"

Ui made an exasperated sound. "Jun, you are being rude."

Azusa took the initiative to be less of a bystander and stepped closer and offered a tiny paw to the taller girl. "I am pleased to meet you, Jun-san. A friend of Ui is friend of mine." She smiled shyly and cocked her head. Jun took the hand and Azusa noted that the other girl's hands were pretty calloused.

Jun apparently noticed something similar. "Wow Azusa, you've got some serious calluses there. I have to say I admire the way you can master the guitar with tiny little things like that."

Azusa shrugged and ignored the insult,smiling lightly. "I have no choice. My hands won't get any get bigger at my age. You have tough hands, too."

Jun took a moment to translate what Azusa meant before grinning again. "Yeah, I play bass, it's pretty rough on the hands but I love it."

Jun turned back to Ui and Azusa could see her eyes drifting up and down her form a little obviously. "So, I guess maybe you could use a bassist."

_She's checking her out, and they used to be close. I wonder if they ever dated._

Ui seemed to consider her a moment, then nodded. "It would be nice to play with you again, Jun."

Jun smiled a little uncertainly, then pulled a small cell phone from her pocket, holding it up. "Exchange numbers?" Ui nodded to that request. "Busy tonight?" Ui shook her head and blushed slightly. "Um... See you later, um... tonight, then?" Ui nodded again and they exchanged numbers quietly.

"See you soon, Jun." Ui looked very controlled, but Azusa thought she saw a little pensiveness.

Jun smiled. "Yeah, I'll call or text soon" And with that she was off. Ui watched her leave.

Azusa cleared her throat softly. "Anything you want to share, Ui-san?"

Ui took a deep, cleansing breath, then slowly let it out. She turned an honest, small smile to Azusa. "My ex-girlfriend." She paused a moment, and Azusa could tell she was thinking about something. "I guess there is still an attraction. We broke up right before she moved away." Ui sighed. Noticing they were close to a bench, she took a seat. Azusa sat next to her, looking concerned at her roommate.

"[_I_ _don_'_t_ _want_ _to_ _pry,_ _Ui-san,_ _but_ _if_ _you_ _want_ _to_ _talk_ _it_ _out,_ _it_ _will_ _not_ _go_ _any_ _further.]_"

Ui looked at Azusa gratefully then leaned back, looking up at the sky, looking at a few fleecy clouds floating up there in that azure field a few moments before speaking.

"[_Jun-chan_ _and_ _I_ _have_ _been_ _friends_ _since_ _elementary_ _school._ _We_ _grew_ _up_ _together,_ _figured_ _out_ _we_ _both_ _liked_ _girls_ _together,_ _and_ _fell_ _in_ _love_ _together._ _With_ _each_ _other._ _When_ _she_ _found_ _out_ _she_ _was_ _moving_ _away,_ _she_ _started_ _pressuring_ _me_ _to_ _have_ _sex._ _I_ _wasn_'_t_ _ready_ _then,_ _and_ _we_ _broke_ _up_ _right_ _before_ _she_ _moved_ _away.]_"

Azusa was torn. She wanted to comfort the younger Hirasawa sister, but was uncomfortable initiating physical affection, especially in public like this. She kept her voice very low when she spoke, breaking Ui's new silence. "[_It_ _appears_ _there_'_s_ _still_ _an_ _attraction_ _there.]_"

"_[It's been nearly three years, and you don't pick up something like that right back up where you left off as if nothing happened.]"_ Ui looked back over at Azusa and then stood, offering her a hand up. "Come on, Azusa. Let's get some lunch."

Azusa took her hand and rose from her seat, letting Ui keep hold of it as they walked back to the dorm for lunch. She had to admit though, it embarrassed her slightly to do so. This was comforting a friend, she told herself silently, watching Ui's face now and then from the side. She could not dismiss the fact that Ui's expression seemed wistful.

* * *

The rest of the week fell into a sort of routine for Azusa. In the morning she would meet most of her friends for breakfast, excluding Yui; next were orientation classes aimed at foreign students, making sure they had a firm grasp of the schedules, how grading was done, registration, dorm life and more; she would then meet everyone for lunch, after getting caught in a very public and embarrassing 'Azunyan recharge'. After a while, she started meeting her senpai in their suite to keep Yui from embarrassing her in public with this particular behavior.

The private moment seemed to please Yui more, possibly because she perceived Azusa as coming to her because she missed her. Though Azusa did miss her and came to look forward to the contact, Yui missed her real intentions. Azusa simply didn't like that sort of public attention. She knew that the community here was accepting of such things, but she was still Japanese. The Monday Yui did that to her in the dorm cafeteria was mortifying to the undersized freshman.

In the early afternoon they all met back at the Sophomores' suite and had a snack served by Tsumugi. Generally, some sort of light dessert and the blonde woman's impeccably delicious tea. Azusa privately wondered about the tea sets that were used for these casual occasions. Each one appeared to be very old and expensive. She knew Tsumugi was a multinational citizen, but she was beginning to suspect that the ladylike woman was a true '_Oujou_'.

After tea, they all met for band practice before a late dinner. The older girls explained this was the normal routine, and that their schedules actually had a slot marked 'ensemble or solo practice'.

Afterwards, they hung out although Azusa was sure that it would become study time later on, though, usually, they would work on scores. Her seniors, Yui in particular, went over what she could expect in her freshman year, class wise. Azusa had her pre-registration finished well before the rest of the students started arriving on Thursday.

She really only saw Ui at breakfast and, for the most part, lunch. She was already done with her required orientation since she was born in America and had impeccable English. She didn't need survival tips that Azusa still needed to learn. The sweet roomie barely talked to her and it seemed that she and Jun were spending time catching up. It almost sounded like dating to her, but Ui insisted it was not.

She also met the Modern Music Advisor, who turned out to be a Japanese-American by the name of Sawako Yamanaka. Azusa was impressed by how demure and responsible the advisor was in their meeting, but when she told the other club members they laughed at her, Ritsu in particular.

"Sawa-chan has you fooled, huh kiddo?" She laughed harder and to Azusa's surprise Mio didn't bother to even acknowledge Ritsu's behavior, let alone correct it. The petite girl guessed she was used to seeing it.

Azusa was still uncertain of the couple dynamic between the two women, they rarely showed much affection to each other outside their suite, and even there, with others around, they tended to be very chaste. There was no doubt they were a couple, though, if you watched them closely. They were always very aware of each other.

"Don't worry, she'll show her true stripes later." Ritsu went back to frowning at some score with a small keyboard in front of her, sometimes tapping a few keys and writing, then erasing and starting the line over. She wasn't that good with the piano, but knowledge of it was necessary for composition classes here. All of them had to know at least piano basics.

The campus got a lot more crowded Thursday afternoon when all the domestic students moved in. When Azusa came back to her room after lunch they had a visitor, the puffy haired girl from Sunday.

"[_Sorry,_ _I_ _didn't_ _know_ _you_ _had_ _company_ _Ui-san,_ _should_ _I_ _come_ _back_ _later?_]" Azusa stopped in the doorway, ready to walk back out when Ui rose to her feet and waved her hand to invite Azusa in.

"[_It_ _is_ _your_ _room,_ _too,_ _Azusa-chan,_ _and_ _no_ _need_ _to_ _be_ _so_ _formal_ _with_ _me,_ _we_ _live_ _together._ _Do_ _you_ _mind_ _switching_ _to_ _English_ _for_ _our_ _guest?_ _She_ _doesn't_ _speak_ _much_ _Japanese._]"

As they spoke, Jun rose and bowed a little awkwardly, speaking in accented and stilted Japanese. "[_My_ _apologies_ _for_ _intruding_ _in_ _your_ _home,_ _Azusa-san_]"

Azusa smiled widely and moved to take a seat at her desk. "If you are a friend of Ui's, Jun-san, you are welcome in my home."

Jun grinned and sat again on Ui's bed. "Sorry if I was crude earlier, Azusa. It's hard for me to get over how small you are. An average American middle school girl is bigger than you. I can see why you wouldn't be into guys though."

Azusa blushed and stared at Jun a moment before turning away and standing. "Please, excuse me." Azusa said coldly, fighting shame and anger rising in her chest.

Ui leaned into Jun and spoke softly, but Azusa could hear an unfamiliar cross tone in her voice clearly. "Jun Suzuki. How could you be so rude to her after she welcomed you into her home? Apologize. Now."

Azusa paused at the door with her hand on the doorknob as Jun came up behind her. She stuttered out. "Ah… Azusa-san. I mean, ah… Nakano-san, I am very sorry to offend you in your home." Jun paused, taking a deep breath and spoke quickly. "It's like… you're really cute and small, and maybe I'm a bit jealous. I bet you can get a girlfriend real easy, not like me." Jun let out the breath and smiled, hoping Azusa would turn around. "I'm a lesbian too, not a practicing one, you might say, but I'm part of the club. Please forgive me?"

Azusa seemed to deflate a little and she turned around, eyeing Jun a moment as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, she noted that Jun looked truly miserable that she had offended Azusa so easily. "Apology accepted. Just... Just because you think that I have it so easy, does not mean that it actually is."

Ui had come up just behind the two of them. "Azusa is saying she's single too, Jun. I think she said she hasn't been seeing anyone for about two years now." Ui turned Jun enough by a tug on her sleeve and gave the puffy haired woman a significant look, a 'don't ask' look.

Jun took a deep breath and smiled. "Please don't go, Azusa. I guess the grass is always greener, huh?"

Azusa seemed to relax and smiled back. "Don't worry about it Jun. I guess I am a little, um... prickly. Does this grass thing mean like ah... _Tonari_ _no_ _shibafu_ _wa_ _aoi_... The neighbor's grass is always green?"

Jun and Ui laughed. "Exactly, Azusa-chan, we are always envious of what we don't have, but our neighbor is envious of what we have."

Azusa seemed to finally relax and started to move away from the door. When she passed by Ui, she took her hand and hugged her briefly. It didn't feel the same as Yui's hugs, even if they were the same size. "[_I_ _am_ _so_ _sorry,_ _Azusa-chan._ _Jun_ _doesn't_ _understand_ _how_ _the_ _Japanese_ _think._ _She_ _was_ _trying_ _to_ _be_ _friendly,_ _believe_ _it_ _or_ _not._ _Come_ _in,_ _sit_ _down,_ _we_ _would_ _love_ _your_ _company._]"

Azusa hugged her back quickly then stepped away with a wry smile on her face "Ui, I think your sister is conditioning me to hugging."

Ui and Jun both laughed as Azusa pulled her desk chair closer to the other two as they sat back down. "I remember Yui, is she still the same airhead she's always been?"

Ui shrugged and smiled at Jun. "I think she's too cute, but I am biased."

Jun rolled her eyes and shrugged. "The woman that ends up with her will have to be a saint." She eyed Azusa a moment. "Um... please don't be offended, but you aiming for sainthood by any chance, Azusa? I saw how Yui was all over you Sunday."

Azusa blushed and looked down, shaking her head. "I… might, but Azu-… um… I think Yui-sempai just wants to be good senpai." She nervously swung her feet. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

Ui watched Azusa silently for a moment, then caught Jun's eye. "Jun, how was it finishing high school here in town?"

Azusa didn't have much input into the rest of the conversation. She answered a few basic questions, but her heart wasn't into it. She couldn't stop thinking about Yui.

* * *

Later at group practice Azusa thought she would have a bad night after the whole business with Jun, but for some reason one Yui hug broke her funk and put her on track again. The young airhead didn't know the powerful effect she had on her kohai's emotions, but Azusa was dealing with it. She was both elated and worried that Yui might never feel the same way.

Things moved smoothly through to Friday, more or less, until Professor Yamanaka came to visit the girls right before practice in their dorm room with a form.

"Ladies, your band needs a name if you are going to perform." Azusa had answered the door and let her in unthinkingly, and now stood to the side as her demure sweet sensei dropped her public mask in front of the senior girls.

"Crap. Sawa-chan, you let us use Modern Ensemble Three last year. We just called ourselves MET, it was fine!" This came from Ritsu, who was the nominal voice for the ensemble.

"This year you guys are Modern Ensemble Two, and have an official additional member." She looked over to Azusa and smiled. "Congratulations, Nakano. You are officially part of Modern Ensemble Two. Your skills were proven advanced enough for you to be placed in an advanced group. Besides, the group picked you. We put a lot on group dynamics here."

Azusa bowed quickly and returned the smile. She had actually worried about being made to participate in a freshman ensemble instead of the one she meshed with. "Thank you, Sensei."

"Here we aim to help women achieve, not set them up to fail. You belong with this group." Sawako smiled to Mugi. "Mugi, could I have a cup of your wonderful tea? And maybe some of those lemon cookies, please?"

Mugi quickly consented and served it. While Sawako took a sip and settled into one of the plush chairs she eyed the ensemble members. "Lovely tea. I remember you girls did this before practice every day last semester. Planning on keeping it up?"

Everyone mumbled assent and tried to relax sipping their tea. Sawako placed a form on the coffee table. "No one leaves this room without a name for your band." She smiled at Ui too. "Oh, and Ui? Start thinking about a name, too, once we put your ensemble together next week. You and Suzuki are my freshman. I'm giving you Scranton as a drummer, she's a Junior and knows the ropes. The rest of her ensemble graduated last spring and she loves to play."

Ritsu nearly snorted her tea out her nose, laughing hard.

Everyone looked at her a moment, then the sophomores all chuckled. Mugi saved the freshmen some confusion and explained. "Sensei means Ari. She's very good and her ensemble won the school competition last year. We all know her pretty well." Mugi perked thick eyebrows at Ritsu, who launched into fresh gales of laughter at Mugi's explanation. "Ritsu knows her very well."

Ritsu fell out of her chair onto the floor, and earned herself a kick in the side.

"_[That's_ _enough,_ _Tainaka.]_"

"_[Owwwww!_ _That_ _hurt,_ _Mio!]_"

Mio snorted and focused her attention on the professor.

She looked around again. "Names, girls."

Some names started rolling out of people's mouths, from the kind of names that were already taken, to the most absurd, to the just plain lame. Sawako got a refill of tea and seemed to ponder it a moment before she leaned forward and started filling out the form. "Ok, got it."

Ritsu spoke up first, sitting on the floor in front of Mio's legs. "Ah... got what? Our band name?"

Sawako set down the teacup and smiled to Tsumugi. "Thank you for the wonderful tea Mugi." She rose and started for the door, then looked back. "_Houkago_ _Tea_ _Time_, girls. We'll call you HTT for short. Sorry, but they have to print the brochures for the event tonight, and you were holding them up." Sawako set down her teacup and straightened the paperwork up.

"Ahhh. Whoa! What kind of lame name is that?" Ritsu exclaimed.

Sawako stood and grinned at the younger women in the room. "The kind of name lazy sophomores get when they had all summer to decide and didn't."

"But… But. Crap. Uh… How about the Lonesome Doves, or… uh... Slipped and Fell, or... " Ritsu hemmed as she tried to stall for time.

Azusa sat stock still holding her teacup, looking around the room while Mio watched Ritsu with a bit of a smirk on her face. Mugi simply refilled a few cups of her friends' teas while Yui ate.

"Already on the form, ladies. Too late!" Sawako grinned again, flapping the paperwork at them, and then turned to head out the door.

"Uh! Flaming Hot Chapstick!" Ritsu called to Sawako's back as she opened the door.

Sawako paused and looked back in with a smirk on her face. "I look forward to your concert. _HTT_." The door closed with a click. It had a sound of finality.

Everyone looked into their teacups silently and pondered their group's name. "Well. I suppose it fits." Mugi finally said.

"Kinda lame if you ask me." Ritsu growled a bit angrily.

"Maybe we can change it later." Added Mio, with a hopeful tone to her voice.

Azusa nudged Yui gently, who was snoring, the pile of snacks that were in front of her reduced to a few crumbs. "Yui-senpai, it's time for practice."

* * *

The club spent pretty much the entire morning working on setting up for playing at the student union. They didn't exactly have roadies or anything, but they seemed to manage on their own. Once they were done with sound checks, they grabbed some lunch and reviewed their sets.

The student union building's main room was pretty large, with a professional stage and a good sized auditorium. Attached were various lounges and game rooms, and the main campus cafeteria.

Yui checked on Azusa and her choice of wardrobe. "It's a big gig, Azunyan. We want you to look cool. Got any hip huggers? Maybe a shiny belt or something?" Yui spent a little time going through Azusa's clothes before they decided on an outfit. "There will be a pretty big crowd this year if it is anything like last year, and after all it is the first real party of the year."

"I saw it was a big room, Yui-senpai, but I thought it was an LGBT gig?" Azusa was having trouble wrapping her head around that there would be that many supporters of her lifestyle in one room, for starters.

"Might end up being more, this is a liberal school. A party is a party, you know? You'll get a better idea of the real dynamics at a real meeting. We're taking over the gig from a group that graduated last year. Well, most of them."

"So it's kind of like tradition that a band plays for the LGBT Society?" Azusa changed while she tried to wrap her head around all of this information. Yui couldn't help watching her change, her small body was lithe and her curves were more generous than they looked through her normally baggy clothing.

"I guess it is something like that. It's a big gig, and if you are Society members, you're more likely to get it." Yui turned away, giving her kohai some privacy, and herself some piece of mind. Yui knew she liked girls like that, but it wasn't right to be lusting after her kohai.

"So did you join the society to get the gig, support your friends, or because..." Azusa let it hang as she shimmied into a pair of over tight low cut jeans. "[_Dammit,_ _did_ _I_ _gain_ _weight?_]"

Yui turned and caught an eyeful. Luckily Azusa was too busy trying to shoehorn herself into the jeans. "Oh, it's because I like girls, Azunyan. Though the band last year had at least one straight girl, we don't discriminate." She giggled at Azusa's not so sexy struggle with her jeans. "[_If_ _you_ _are_ _worried_ _about_ _your_ _weight,_ _you_ _can_ _run_ _with_ _me_ _in_ _the_ _mornings._]"

Azusa won the battle with her jeans and turned to face Yui, who was carefully looking her in the eyes.

"[_Running?_ _Do_ _you_ _run_ _every_ _morning?_]"

"[_Pretty_ _much,_ _Azunyan._]" She grinned. "Put on a shirt that bares some tummy, they'll love that. Sex appeal matters with this crowd."

Azusa giggled and pulled out a crop top. "Hard to believe I am dressing like this for girls."

"After this show, you'll probably be famous on campus, Azunyan. I'll protect you though!"

Azusa giggled, but in the back of her mind fantasies were already starting to form.

* * *

As the band took the stage they surveyed the room. This was indeed a pretty good sized crowd.

"The fire code says the limit is 350, and we may be close to it." Mio said while she checked her bass and started tuning as Mugi gave her the notes. Mio had on a pair of bell bottoms that were decidedly tight at the top and thighs and a sleeveless top that hugged her curves nicely.

"It seems bigger than last year. Then again, we weren't on this side of the room last year." Ritsu said as she was examining a logo someone had pasted on her bass drum. "HTT? Who put that on there?" Ritsu was in baggy shorts and a basketball top. She didn't really change. It did show off a lot of her very fit physique, though.

Mugi laughed softly. "I had that made, sorry I didn't ask, Ritsu." She was lovely in a white sun dress with a bit of a nautical theme, her sailor hat on top her blond curls at a jaunty angle.

"I wonder if there will be any food left when we're done…" Yui's eyes were fixed on the buffet table, where there were quite a few people browsing with plates. Yui opted for a pair of yellow very short shorts and an oversized t-shirt tied off at a knot to expose her flat tummy.

"I'll buy you a foot long at Heath's Subs if they don't save us anything." Azusa tuned her Mustang and eyed the crowd. This was easily the biggest crowd she had ever performed for. She was both nervous and excited and she felt her hands shaking a little.

Yui stepped up the microphone and waited a moment as people started to look, then she yelled. "We are HTT! Hajimaru Yo!" Ritsu snapped her sticks together and on queue they each started their practiced parts.

HTT started the set with Orianthi's _Shut_ _Up_ _And_ _Kiss_ _Me_ to display Azusa's awesome chops. Yui's clear toned vocals carried well, and the song displayed the wall of sound they were developing with the group effectively. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the performance, and a good many knew the song. The vibe in the hall was electric and for the girls in the band, it drove them to perform harder and better.

Next they covered SCANDAL's high energy _Scandal_ _Baby_ in a heavier style than the original, and in Japanese. They had arranged the tune for both a bass solo for Mio and a guitar solo for Azusa. Yui's high energy vocals were perfect, and as usual she was bouncing around the stage enthusiastically. The crowd seemed to eat that one up too, and it continued to feed the energy of the band. Yui was practically a live wire, hardly still even when singing. Mio was her normal stoic self, as was Azusa, who mostly moved from standing somewhat normally to a guitar power pose during solos. Mugi was almost flirty from behind her keyboard, and Ritsu was like a wild machine behind the drums, grinning madly the whole time.

The band launched directly into Orianthi's _Believe_ directly after _Scandal_ _Baby_, really showing off Mugi's soulful keyboard skills while showing off Azusa's excellent lead guitar. Again, Yui's clear soulful lead vocals shone through as well.

HTT melded right into Orianthi's heavier _Addicted_ _to_ _Love_ without a stop, Yui's rhythm guitar carrying it directly in. Once again, the stars were Yui and Azusa. They had talked about adding some more feature pieces for other members, but the band knew well that they were dealing with a real gem in their new freshman guitarist.

Azusa seemed to almost transform when she did her solos, her long hair waving in the flow of the mass air movers keeping the stage from being a sweltering hell. She often took a bit of a wide stance or moved sensually in place with her guitar as clear sweet tones or guttural trounces belted from it, her face serious.

The band all stood up straight and looked over the audience, awed by their enthusiastic response to their music. All of them were smiling widely, but the biggest smile had to be Yui's.

Yui stepped back up to the mic and yelled into it. "Right! That was fun! Now let me introduce the band!" Yui gestured to Mio on the bass. "Straight from Tokyo Japan, the sexy and talented Mio Akiyama on bass!" Mio did a riff of bass slap pop that sounded awesome. "Also from Tokyo, the energetic and fun loving Ritsu Tainaka!" Ritsu did a tasty drum flourish. "From all over the world, mostly Finland, Japan and New York, our tasty blonde treat, Tsumugi Kotobuki!" Mugi did a quick frill on her keyboard, smiling pleasantly while she did so. "And our newest member, recruited before she even reached the school, our very own little kitten frosh, on lead guitar! Azusa Nakano!" Yui herself clapped and grinned at Azusa as she did a bleeding fast riff on her guitar, straight out of Van Halen. Mio leaned into her microphone "And our very own Jersey girl, on rhythm guitar, Yui Hirasawa!" Yui hit a pedal and did a few bars of metal chords, then took a bow.

"Ok, now let's rock!"

The band was starting to show a richer blues influence in the music choices, after the introduction they did another Orianthi cover, _According_ _to_ _You_ and followed it up quickly with their own guitar heavy arrangement of Sleater Kinney's _Entertain_ and No Doubt's _Ex_ _Girlfriend_. They slowed it down afterwards with Seether's _Broken,_ relying primarily on Mio's smoky vocals and Azusa's guitar.

Azusa stood just to the side of Mio as she played and they seemed to have a vibe to them. They finished the song on a heavy last verse and then rested for a few moments before Mugi's keyboard started clearly playing the opening to '_Stairway_ _to_ _Heaven_'.

The audience cheered and then got silent as they listened closely to this classic tune. They knew it hadn't been long since it had been featured on American Idol with an all star band. They were certainly making a mental comparison to this young band and that performance.

HTT measured up well. Yui's vocals packed enough power to carry it off, especially with Mio's sultry backups. Ritsu's percussion was amazing, with Mio's bass the perfect rhythm accompaniment. Mugi's keyboard skills gave depth to the performance, and above all the little freshman's lead guitar skills cut through it all like a scythe, clearly blowing the audience away.

The applause was a cacophony that blasted the women on stage backwards, even as they took their bows. The group was obviously a little tired and sweating. Azusa had put a sweat band on her right wrist, but it didn't hold up to the amount of sweat she needed to mop away. Someone handed her a towel and she was mopping it away as they left the stage.

The president of the LGBT Society greeted them backstage, looking excited. "You gals were amazing up there! I didn't know what to expect out of a sophomore ensemble, but it wasn't bad!"

The band was all grins as they accepted the praise, Ritsu chuckled and added. "Heh, we just added a hotshot frosh guitarist. Wait till we figure out how to really use her." Ritsu grabbed said short guitarist in a neck lock, catching her by surprise.

Azusa gurgled a moment before she was let go, gasping slightly. She was still red in the face from the heat of the lights and the crowd, but she was scooped into a more familiar hug soon after, that made her go rigid.

_Public,_ _so_ _public!_

Yui chortled into the familiar hug. "That's my kitten! That was awesome, Azunyan!"

Azusa struggled out of the hug. "[_I'm_ _hot_ _Yui-sempai,_ _let_ _me_ _go._]" Azusa said, sounding flustered, and a little angry.

Yui let her go with no complaint, just a chuckle and a word. "Angry Azunyan is cute too."

The president took a moment to survey the dynamic of the group then smiled. She could feel the sexual vibe coming off several of these women. "Can you ladies do an encore? The crowd is still cheering out there. Maybe in fifteen minutes?"

Ritsu scanned the members of the ensemble and got nods, even from the guitarists. She grinned widely to the President. "Two or three song set?"

Yui grinned widely at Ritsu. "Make it four. We'll leave it all on the floor, huh?"

The president gave them a thumbs up and headed on stage to tell everyone that HTT was taking a short break and would do an encore.

Meanwhile, the band huddled to discuss what they would play while swilling down water to cool off and rehydrate. They made a quick decision to use some of the stuff Azusa had brought in, since it was fresh in everyone's minds, and an encore of a song the audience seemed to really like. They spent the rest of the time doing a quick review on the parts.

Soon enough they were back on stage, rewarded with applause for returning. They all took a bow and Yui stepped up the Microphone.

"Hey everyone, we're HTT!" More applause washed over them. "Who likes ice cream?" A bit of cheering for that question. "I know I could use some!" Yui laughed and turned to Ritsu who counted them in to one of the songs they practiced with Azusa the first night she played with them, System of a Down's arrangement of '_Snowblind_', rearranged to show off the depth of their band, with Azusa firmly in the lead role. And, of course, instead of a low throaty 'cocaine', the entire band yelled 'Ice Cream!' instead.

The audience seemed to love it. They quickly moved into Jimmy Eat World's _The_ _Middle_, which led right into Nine Days _'Story_ _of_ _a_ _Girl'_ and ended on a reprise of Orianthi's _Shut_ _Up_ _and_ _Kiss_ _Me._ The interplay between the peppy lead singer and the talented lead guitarist was read by many of the audience that the two were talking to each other through the song. It ended with the two of them face to face over their guitars grinning at each other and the audience went wild with applause.

HTT went backstage again and Yui had an arm around Azusa, excitedly talking about how the song went, and not seeming to notice the couple feeling they were putting out. Encouraged by this display of affection, Mio and Ritsu were unusually close, even touching foreheads a moment. Ritsu was obviously elated and still full of energy. Mugi found Ui backstage already to congratulate her, but what she didn't expect to find was Jun right by Ui's side.

Jun looked between Mugi and Ui as they talked and after looking thoughtful for a moment she interrupted, putting a hand familiarly in the small of Ui's back. "Hey Ui, can you introduce me to everyone?"

Mugi looked startled for a moment, not missing that familiarity. "Oh, sorry… We haven't been introduced, have we? I'm Kotobuki Tsumugi. Nice to meet you." She didn't sound strained, but no one really missed what was going on right now, except Yui of course.

Jun perked a brow at the keyboardist, then smiled and offered her hand for a shake. "Suzuki Jun. I've been friends with Ui since we were kids."

Mugi took the hand and squeezed a little, noting the tough callous on the frizzy haired woman's hand, her calm blue eyes locking with Jun's stormy brown. "Childhood friend? So you played a lot with Ui when you were kids?" The voice sounded pleasant. The look wasn't.

"Yeah, we played around a bunch more in high school too." Jun said with a big smirk on her face, while Ui was starting to look a bit alarmed.

Mugi looked more than alarmed, but somehow Yui saved the day before she could embarrass herself. The slightly eccentric guitarist barged right in and gave Jun a big hug. "Jun-chan! I didn't know you were here! That's awesome! I haven't seen you since… um." She glanced at Ui, then Mugi who still looked a bit out of it. "Since you moved!"

"Good to see you too, Yui." Jun wasn't missing the glances either, and pieces were falling into place. She'd known that she would have to win Ui back, but now she knew she had competition too. She just hoped they didn't know the whole story or it might be a bit hostile around HTT, more so than it was already.

The band collapsed in a small lounge they had been given as a 'green room' that wasn't really backstage or all that secure. Most of the girls were gulping down water and making dents in the plush if not battered furniture in there. Yui found a couple pizzas waiting on the card tables and did not hesitate to dive in.

A knock on the door announced more visitors. Azusa rose to answer it and found herself greeted by ten or twelve pretty white girls who immediately gushed verbally all over the short guitarist. "That was awesome! Your name is Asousa, right? Are you single? Where did you learn to play like that? You're so cute! Can I get your phone number? Hey, you are into girls, right? Wanna go out for a couple drinks?"

All this simply made Azusa gape at them, standing in the doorway. Yui, surprisingly, came to her rescue. She even abandoned her pizza. She came up behind Azusa and put an arm around her, drawing her close. "Sorry girls, she doesn't speak much English." She grinned down at Azusa and winked at her. "_[Play_ _along.]_" Yui reached for the door with her other hand and moved to close it in the women's faces. "Besides, she's already spoken for." And the door was closed.

Azusa blushed a beat red at Yui's last statement while Yui stroked her hair a moment then let go, turning back to her pizza. "That should hold them off a while, have some pizza, Azunyan!"

Azusa came back to sit with Yui, but the aura was weird. Azusa felt elated and confused, wondering what Yui was up to exactly.

_When_ _Yui-senpai_ _is_ _eating,_ _she_ _rarely_ _responds_ _to_ _anything._ _But_ _she_ _stopped_ _eating_ _to_ _defend_ _me._ _Do_ _you_ _have_ _any_ _idea_ _what_ _you_ _are_ _doing_ _to_ _me?_

Azusa sighed and relaxed back, slumping slightly to one side and touching Yui's shoulder with her forehead. Yui just ignored the contact and kept eating.

* * *

The following two weeks went by quickly for all. Classes started and the reality of college sunk in. Psychology 101 followed by Calculus 110 from 8-10 Monday/Wednesday/Friday, English Composition 101 and Music Composition 110 Tuesdays and Thursdays 8-11. She had Ensemble Monday through Friday 1-3 and private guitar lessons Saturdays in the morning. A total of 16 credit hours, three of them General Education, and two music classes for her major. The guitar lesson counted as a general lab for her major.

She got to meet the third member of Ui's ensemble that Sunday afternoon when all three were assembled in her room after dinner. The third girl was named Arianna "Ari" Yesalavich, their drummer. She was maybe 5'7" with short blond hair, steaks of blue and green fearlessly sticking out and a somewhat athletic build, and quite pretty. She was lounging on Ui's bed in a sweat suit when Azusa came in, but moved to the edge to meet Ui's roommate.

"Well, if it isn't the Japanese Orianthi!" Jun chuckled and Ui giggled while Azusa blushed. She'd already had a fair amount of people approach her on campus, but she didn't travel alone so her friends usually ran interference.

Azusa bowed slightly "Umm… Azusa Nakano. Pleased to meet you. I am Ui-chan's roommate." The woman waved with a lazy grin. "Ariana Yesalavich. Call me Ari, and that's Yes-Ah-Lev-Itch. I'm the drummer in modern ensemble four. Oh, and I'm a junior. The rest of my ensemble graduated last year and all."

The upperclassman stood up and looked down at Asuza and blinked. "Economy sized guitarist." She grinned lazily and stuck out a hand at her. "It's cool."

Azusa blinked at the lame joke, then smiled and gingerly shook the loose grip. "Have you met Ritsu-senpai yet? You could compare notes, yes?"

_Damnit_ _my_ _English_ _is_ _better_ _than_ _this._

Ari grinned widely. "Oh, I know that cat is pretty good. Ask her sometime about _Wicked_, ya know, the play? We had a lot of fun with it last spring." Ari ran a hand idly through her multicolored hair, roughing it up even more. "She calls me... ahh... what is it. Onee-san or somethin'. I'm her Big." She shrugged and moved to sit back down on the bed.

"Big? Sister?" Azusa guessed.

"Yeah. Upperclassmen look out for underclassmen in their departments and all. It's groovy, real tradition here. Like how we call you girls frosh." She grinned at them and laid back. "Like staggering a drummer two years off in a band, gives you guys some leadership or something. I suppose." She laughed, an almost odd honking sound. "Look at me, a Big, and now a big ol' upperclassman to some frosh. My classmates in high school would blow a frickin' gasket. Me, responsible. Hilarious."

She looked at Azusa critically with her washed out blue eyes, then grinned. "Saw you guys last night, Azusa. Killer performance, you rocked it! I can't believe you're a frosh, Azu. It's like... surreal. Anyway, nice to meetcha and all." And with the courtesy satisfied, the drummer lounged back onto the bed.

Azusa dropped off a few things and headed downstairs to give them some privacy.

* * *

Azusa was pleased to find that her schedule was very similar to Ui's and Jun's, so they generally went to class together. Psych 101 was general lecture and a fairly easy class, and the Calculus class was like a review for someone who had graduated from a fairly prestigious Japanese Girl's school. The Music classes were informative and a lot of fun for her, even if they were hard work.

Her anathema was English Composition. She sought help from Ui on it, but Ui pointed her towards her big sister. "She's already passed the course with an A, and you might be surprised how good she is at writing." Of course Ui had ulterior motives for having Azusa study with her sister. She wasn't going to mention it, though.

After supper and ensemble practice, afternoons turned into study sessions in the sophomores' suite. Yui would point Azusa in the right direction, then work on her own lessons. As needed she would evaluate what Azusa did and offer suggestions.

Azusa found herself spending a lot of time with Yui and getting to know her. She saw her from lunch until fairly late in the day nearly every day. She learned some of Yui's peculiarities. Yui was very smart, it turned out. When she focused on something she made easy work of it, but when she lost the focus she turned into a complete airhead.

She was constantly touchy-feely with Azusa and she was growing accustomed to it. Azusa enjoyed Yui's intimate touches, even if she sometimes, despite the dropping Pennsylvania temperatures outside, found herself taking a cold shower at night before bed.

_She_ _tries_ _to_ _act_ _like_ _a_ _good_ _senpai_ _to_ _me,_ _but_ _I_ _can_ _feel_ _something_ _more_ _there._ _Kami-sama,_ _I_ _can't_ _help_ _myself_ _though._ _Her_ _touch_ _does_ _things_ _to_ _me_ _that_ _no_ _one_ _else's_ _has_ _ever_ _done._ _I_ _want_ _more._

_I_ _want_ _her_ _to_ _make_ _love_ _to_ _me._

* * *

On the second Saturday in October there was a ceremony called the "Festival of Lights" that was a tradition at their school. All the freshmen were made to attend wearing white dresses, and even encouraged to wear flowers in their hair. They assembled at the foot of the hill below the main administration buildings, Dublin Hall. It was nearly a half mile walk up the hill to the steps of the grand building, the Greek style columns lining it clearly visible from the distance.

They were each given an unlit white candle and waited for nightfall. Once the sun had set, a group of women in dark red colored robes streamed from either side to fill the steps of Dublin hall, each one holding a lit candle, bathing the entrance with the soft light. It was mysterious and entrancing for the approximately two hundred young freshmen waiting below. Dublin hall looked like a human candelabra.

The seniors that were directing the freshmen started lining them up, calling out one name at a time and directing them to stay in that order as they walked up the hill. They were to walk up the hill to the middle of the base of steps and wait until their name was called. The freshmen were sent slowly up the hill spaced out by at least a minute each, so that there were only a few walking at a time.

From her place below, Azusa, Ui, and Jun watched as a robed figure approached each freshman, lit their candle, pulled back their hood to reveal their face, and as a pair they moved to line the walkway route up with lit candles. With each pair that did this, the sight became more and more beautiful as the route lit up. Ui was the first one who was called up. Apparently they were going in English alphabetical order. Already maybe a quarter of the freshmen had made the exodus to the steps.

Nearly half the freshmen student body had gone by the time they called Azusa's name. She slowly walked up the hill, which was mostly unlit, and soon came across the ones that had gone before her. She scanned their faces and soon found Ui's. Ui was standing next to Mugi-senpai, both holding lit candles in one hand with the hands between them clasped with each others. They were both watching and smiling at Azusa, and she nodded in return.

As she walked up she noticed that each pair of girls, seniors and freshmen, were holding hands with lit candles. She tried to tell what was going on at the top of the hill as she neared, but whatever was being said was not loud enough to reach the next person back, probably on purpose.

When it was finally her turn at the top of the hill, there was a senior standing in the middle. She held out her hand when Azusa reached the spot where the last girl in white standing.

The woman intoned solemnly. "Who will impart upon this woman the light of knowledge?"

A figure in one of the red robes, with the hood still pulled forward to hide her face solemnly, intoned in a soft voice her reply,. "I will." The figure walked forward to directly in front of Azusa. "Little sister, from this day forward I will be your light." The woman solemnly intoned, then leaned her candle forward to light Azusa's.

Azusa noted absently a little wax spilled on the stones of the steps, and that there were many drops of it already there.

Once the candle was lit, the figure used her free hand to pull the hood of the robe back. Revealed was Yui's grin to Azusa, who smiled in return. Yui held out her hand and intoned her last part. "Take my hand, and together we will light the way for others."

_You've_ _got_ _my_ _heart_ _too,_ _I_ _wish_ _you_ _could_ _see_ _it._

Azusa took Yui's hand a little shyly, and let herself be led back down, they took the sidewalk on the left hand side to get into position at the end of the chain on the left. She was sure they took the sidewalk instead of the road to help with the mystery for those who had not yet come to the top.

Soon Jun made the same trip as she had and Azusa watched her go up with a smile. She saw her on the other side when she joined the ranks of the 'enlightened', hand in hand with Mio.

Once the last of the white had made the trip and returned to line the path, someone intoned from the top of the hill, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"The light has been handed off to the next generation, and with the handing off, the light grows. Big sisters, I charge you to keep the light burning in the hearts and minds of your little sisters. Little sisters learn from your big sisters well, so that you might kindle the light within your own little sister when the time comes. Now go forth into the world, my sisters, and shed that light into every corner! Remember that the darkness cannot abide the light!"

With that last proclamation, the streetlights and spotlight on the building finally came on as normal and she heard Yui whisper to her. "Put out the candle!" As she put out her own candle, Azusa quickly put out her own by pinching the wick between her calloused fingers.

With all the candles out and the normal lights on, the sanctity of the moment was broken, and conversation spread out around then in a sudden cacophony of voices. Yui turned to Azusa and gave her a big hug. "Hey, little sister!" She giggled and rubbed cheeks with Azusa until the smaller woman started blushing. "I'll be a good big sister, you'll see!"

_Her_ _lips_ _are_ _so_ _close,_ _why_ _can't_ _I_ _make_ _myself_ _take_ _them?_ _Is_ _it_ _this_ _public_ _place?_

She smiled up at Yui's obviously happy face then pushed herself into the hug tighter. Yui seemed a little surprised but accepting of the affection, idly stroking Azusa's back. "I'll always protect you and look out for you, Azusa." Yui rocked the smaller woman in the embrace as other sister couples walked past. They weren't the only pair still doing something like this, and no-one did much more than smile at them.

Azusa could feel the words, though, like they were burning her.

_She_ _wants_ _to_ _protect_ _and_ _look_ _out_ _for_ _me._ _I_ _want_ _that._ _I_ _really_ _want_ _that._

Azusa whimpered into the embrace and buried her face, shivering from the cold as far as Yui could tell, but honestly, the petite underclassman was riding an emotional wave that was becoming patently physical to her. She squirmed a little as she felt the heat start to melt her, causing her core to start its own wet heat.

_Oh_ _kami-sama._ _She's_ _really_ _turning_ _me_ _on._ _But_ _it's_ _more_ _than_ _that,_ _as_ _if_ _her_ _touch_ _is_ _driving_ _me_ _wild,_ _which_ _it_ _is._ _When_ _I_ _play_ _together_ _with_ _her,_ _it's_ _like_ _our_ _talent,_ _our_ _souls_ _merge._ _Playing_ _the_ _guitar_ _is_ _more_ _fun_ _than_ _it_ _has_ _ever_ _been_ _for_ _me_ _with_ _her._ _Being_ _with_ _her_ _makes_ _my_ _heart_ _feel_ _like_ _it_ _has_ _wings,_ _I_ _have_ _never_ _been_ _more_ _carefree._ _And_ _now_ _with_ _this,_ _she_ _has_ _pledged_ _to_ _always_ _take_ _care_ _of_ _me_ _and_ _protect_ _me._

Azusa suddenly clutched Yui tighter, her hands clasping together around the taller woman's back. A small part of her mind took note of how solid the other woman felt. How comforting. She felt a hand run through her hair and then stroke her back soothingly, a soft voice in her ear. "It's okay, little kitten. Yui has you and isn't letting go."

Azusa shivered at those words in her ear and became very aware of how her body was reacting to it, the dampness between her legs enough that she was sure she'd have to change her underwear before bed.

_I'm_ _in_ _love_ _with_ _her._

Nuzzling her face into Yui's neck she dared the softest of kisses, her lips only finding cloth.

_I'm_ _in_ _love_ _and_ _I_ _don't_ _ever_ _want_ _to_ _be_ _anywhere_ _else_ _but_ _her_ _arms._

"Hey, Azunyan. There's, umm... free food at the Student Union..." Azusa not only heard but felt Yui's stomach growl and she couldn't help but laugh. She stepped out and beamed up at Yui's face, keeping one of her hands in her own.

"Sure, Yui-senpai, let's go eat."

They walked to the Student Union hand in hand, and for once Azusa wasn't the least bit embarrassed by the public display of affection. It wasn't just that they were not the only pair of women holding hands around them. It had a lot to do with Azusa's heart brimming over with her love for Yui. So much that she couldn't find any reason to hide it right now.

_Look_ _at_ _me_ _Yui._ _I'm_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _your_ _lover._ _I_ _have_ _to_ _be_ _your_ _lover._

* * *

**A/N** –

Big thanks to my wonderful Beta readers Musician74 and Lupo Azzurro. Their help with this story was invaluable. I am absolutely certain that this chapter would have been pretty horrible without their insight and help. Thank you Betas! You are awesome!

This marks a long chapter 2 I know, but I don't see chapters getting very small with this. I already have a 3rd chapter roughed out, and plenty of ideas and ground to cover for several more. I hope everyone is enjoying the ride, please give me feedback on what you like and don't like. I'll listen!

Finally, thank you readers for taking your time to read my little lark, I hope you enjoyed it!

**Notes:**

Hajimaru Yo!" (roughly - it's starting)

Holding up the pinkie means 'girlfriend' (sometimes they do it a little lewdly, but girlfriend is all that was intimated in the story)


	3. Autumn Foliage

Notes: I represent internal dialogue as _italics_, English as "simply quoted" and Japanese as "_[bracketed italics inside quotation marks]."_

_Updated 6/29/2012 with better line breaks  
_

* * *

**American****Style,****Chapter****3**** – Autumn Foliage**

Azusa trailed behind the members of her own and her roommate's bands, amazed by the blazing umbrella of foliage, and the sheer amount and variety of colors that were represented within. The tree lined street stretching below the administration building was a veritable riot of fall colors. Yellows, reds and oranges mixed together in the waning sunlight of the afternoon, tricking the eye into seeing what seemed like a fiery inferno at times. It was breathtaking to behold, and more beautiful than any autumn splendor she had witnessed in Japan.

"[_This is amazing!_]" Azusa had her gaze upon the multicolored canopy above them, and the wonder in her voice was plain.

Ui giggled next to her and took her arm gently a moment to steer her around some obstacles unnoticed by her awestruck roommate. "[Pennsylvania's _hardwoods are well renowned for the splendor of their beauty in autumn, Azusa-san._]"

Despite Ui's efforts, Azusa stumbled on an uneven part of the sidewalk, one caused by the spreading roots of a maple that she was admiring the leaves of. Her stumbling was abruptly halted as she felt herself suddenly grasped from behind and pulled back. She couldn't but help let out a startled cry. "Eyyyaaahhhh!"

_I recognize this embrace._

"Azunyan is so cute!" Yui exclaimed as she clutched Azusa from behind. Azusa could have sworn she was walking and talking to Ari, Ritsu's 'big sister', several paces ahead of her and Ui. This sort of thing was starting to get on Azusa's nerves, even if she did recognize that Yui probably saved her from falling flat on her face.

"Let me down!" She started to struggle in Yui's grasp, her anger partly due to her wanting to hide other emotions. This only made the older girl laugh as she nuzzled Azusa's hair, a blush rising to her face and giving her goose bumps that even in anger she could not ignore.

"I couldn't let my precious Azunyan fall!" Yui rationalized in a cheerful voice, even as Azusa struggled in her arms. She wasn't hiding the note of amusement in her voice either, Azusa noted dourly.

Azusa turned to look at Yui, a stormy expression on her face. Yui's constant physical affections were not only a source of embarrassment to her; they were also a source of a growing sexual frustration that had a tendency to make her edgy.

_This clinginess of hers, does she know what it does to me? If she'd just follow through… I don't care who sees anymore._

She put her anger firmly ahead of her needs however. "This... embarrassing in public! Not right!" Azusa yelled, gesturing around to the surrounding streets and sidewalks. There were a few other people about but it was doubtful they cared about Yui's hug. Azusa's yelling was drawing some looks, though, partly due to the broken English.

Yui just grinned at her and shifted Azusa into a much more tender embrace, pulling her face to her chest and gently stroking her hair. Azusa could feel the anger seep from her as she settled her head against Yui's breasts, breathing in her scent.

"I'm sorry, Azunyan." She could feel her warm breath tickling her scalp, and the calm taking her over like a big warm pillow enveloping her. She tried to ignore the damp heat she could feel gathering between her legs.

_How does she do this to me every time? _

_This feels so good. _

_I'm in love._

She moved her head to look up, and Yui had a soft smile on her lips. Azusa stared longingly at those lips for a moment before raising her eyes to gaze into Yui's soft brown orbs, the autumn lighting giving them a golden reddish glow. She lifted her chin, reaching a hand up to wrap around Yui's neck, and brought her face closer to Yui's, eyes closing, her heart hammering in her chest.

Yui blinked a moment when Azusa closed her eyes, seeing the lips she desired approaching, at war with herself. _Not yet Yui, down girl! I want those lips, but not yet! I have a plan!_

So close... until the moment was broken with Ritsu's teasing voice, jarring her to her senses and making her pull her face back.

"Hey! Yui, are you and shorty coming, or you planning on swapping spit in the middle of the street?"

_So close! She wasn't stopping me!_

_Though she wasn't encouraging me either._

_Does she really think of me that way, or am I just another sister to her?_

Azusa suddenly pushed away in embarrassment. She could feel the heat of a blush turning her cheeks a bright scarlet. "Whaa.. what! We never!" She sputtered, a look told her that Yui was just amused. Nothing ever got to that woman. She turned and resumed walking, catching up with Ui, trying to ignore how damp she was. She quietly seethed the rest of the way to the diner everyone had started hanging out at just off campus.

_I haven't priced batteries in America yet. I hope they are not too expensive._

* * *

Tony's Diner had a distinct smell of grease that clung to the interior, the smell of the constantly cooking food outweighing the underlying weight of the old. It had big bay windows that readily displayed older structures in the old, quaint American town and its turning foliage, with booths situated in front of them.

The group of girls chose a large horseshoe shaped booth big enough for them to all squeeze into, though Azusa and Yui barely sat long enough to order drinks before they headed for the old fashioned, garish looking, neon tube decorated jukebox in one corner. Despite protests and angry demonstrations from Azusa and the downright silly or overly affectionate behavior from Yui, the girls were like two peas in a pod, generally on the same wavelength and sharing interests well.

Ari was near the back of the booth on the same side as Jun, idly twisting one of her currently purple locks of hair and watching the two girls at the jukebox with a bit of a smirk. Between her ever changing hair color and the fact she was the only Caucasian with a group of Asians, she stood out.

"Love is in the air, it's like blood in the water. Seeing it makes everyone want to experience it, draws 'em closer, just like sharks are drawn to the blood." She gave Mio and Ritsu a sidelong look right next to her and a grinned. "For instance my little sis there usually sits far enough apart from her girl that you can slip a basketball between 'em, but they are lookin' awful close right now." She nudged Ritsu slightly, who was on her left, and winked.

Mio blushed and looked down at the table, while Ritsu put the hand next to Ari to the back of her head and laughed. Neither let go of the hand they were holding between them on the seat, though.

"Ah come on, you guys all know me and Mio are a couple." Ritsu's eyes tracked to the jukebox herself while she gave her girlfriend's hand a little squeeze. "But I know what you mean about love in the air."

Everyone's gaze went to the pair at the jukebox, not missing how close together they were, or how familiar they were acting with each other. "Could just be close friends, but it's not that rare for a Big and Little sister to be dating. If one of those two were normal, that is." Ritsu chuckled, then cocked her head at Mio's still bowed head and perked a brow. A slight smile answered her unspoken question and the Japanese drummer nodded slightly in reply.

Mugi was watching the pair at the jukebox with a bit of a dreamy smile on her face, then glanced at Ui a moment who was also watching and gave her a bit different smile, before glancing at Jun, her thick eyebrows dropping and fixing her with a momentary unfriendly look. When everyone was seating themselves, Jun had tried to sit next to Ui and Mugi had managed to interpose herself in a way that seemed accidental, but after the little scene after the concert last month, few thought it was.

Ritsu's eyes went back to Ari, then the puffy haired girl beside her big sister, then across to Mugi and Ui before picking up the menu and examining it again. "Um... so, we're still agonizing for a play list for the December group recital. How about you guys, big sis?" Ritsu glanced up from the menu and caught Ari's gaze with a bit of a lopsided smile.

Ari picked up and idly twirled a straw like it was a drumstick. "We're a little stuck ourselves, weaning down to what we want. I am sure we will be fine, though. These girls have a great vibe that makes me happy to be a part of this group." Ari bumped Jun with her hip, who had been looking introspective and trying not to look across the table at Ui and Mugi.

Jun offered a small smile to Ari and nodded. "Yeah, we make a good combo." Jun couldn't help but look at Ui a moment after, a soft smile and a nod was her reward. Just then a small cheer from the two at the jukebox erupted along with the opening notes of _Sweet Home Alabama_ and the pair of Japanese girls doing a little air guitar with it. Jun looked that way and smiled fondly.

"Ui, I've never seen your sister so close to anyone before; it's kinda sweet. Did she ever date in high school? I don't recall seeing her with anyone."

Ui looked that way as well, Azusa and Yui hunched over the jukebox and looking over songs, discussing each possible choice between them. "No Jun, she's gone out a few times, with both boys and girls, but she has never connected like that." She possessed a dreamy smile on her face that was Mugi-worthy. "Isn't it cute?"

Ari snorted and leaned back into the corner of the booth, suppressing a yawn. "So sweet it makes your teeth hurt. How are classes for you frosh? Ready for midterms?"

The conversation turned to classes as Azusa and Yui returned, then to eating and general companionship between the girls. Yui had ordered an amazing amount of food, of course, and Azusa just some crepes with fruit. Everyone else fell in between, food-wise. Later schoolwork and music arrangements came out and their diner ritual continued until fairly late. Life was good.

* * *

There was a snap to the air that hurt your sinuses a little today, and it was getting more and more common. The early morning frost that made many surfaces a sparkling white had been burned away by the afternoon sun except in some shady places where it still clung stubbornly. Without the green of the late summer or the splendid colors of the fall things looked bleak. Only a few leaves still persistently clung to some trees, and those were brown and uninteresting, their brethren already fallen, picked up and hauled away, leaving the bare branches looking naked and skeletal.

Midterms had come and gone, at least for the classes that had them. November had arrived and with it the day-long freezing temperatures, the sun reduced to a simple source of light and even that was becoming less frequent. Azusa silently thanked Kami-sama once again that she could wear pants instead of a skirt to school. She only owned a couple anyway, preferring shorts or jeans.

_Midterms went well. I got straight A's, thanks to Yui and Ui's help. I've always been a good student, but it's affirmation that helps with my confidence._

She looked over at her roommate; they usually went to class together since they had very similar schedules. They were on the way back to the dorm, walking down the hill from the main class buildings to drop off books before meeting everyone for lunch. "It is getting cold, Ui. Will it snow soon, you think?"

Ui giggled softly. "Yes, Azusa, we might see the first snow before December this year. This part of Pennsylvania gets cold; it isn't as bad in New Jersey which is closer to the ocean."

Azusa pulled her scarf a little tighter and shivered slightly at that thought. This was going to be a cold winter, when she accepted the invitation to come to school here she hadn't thought about the weather, but she supposed she had an impression that weather in America would be like California, where she'd been to when she was younger and made an impression on her. She didn't mind the cold all that much, but she was very small and she got cold easily.

They arrived in the dorm and were trying to warm up as they were passing by the duty desk when the person on duty caught Azusa's attention.

"Azusa Nakano? You have a package." Moving towards the desk she accepted the package, seeing it was from her parents. She grinned a little and held it close to her body, glancing at the calendar above the desk.

_November 8__th__. They made sure it arrived early. Wonder what they got me._

Ui looked on curiously as Azusa signed for the package, pulling off her gloves and slipping them in the hip pockets of her coat, stamping her feet a little. With the lack of wind, even the mediocre heat of the lobby felt great to her.

She looked at the shipping label and saw it had come from California instead of Japan, but didn't really think much about it. Her parents traveled a lot for their career.

"Care package, Azusa?" Ui inquired softly one they were in their room. The box wasn't all that big, maybe one square foot. Azusa set it on her desk gently, then started removing layers of clothing from her person, moving to the radiator in their room and letting the moist heat coming from it penetrate the chill she had taken on.

"What is a care package, Ui?" Azusa pulled her schoolbooks and supplies out of her satchel and put them on her desk beside the package. She then sat at the desk and carefully opened the package, finding three things in the packing peanuts separately boxed. She examined each quickly. Her father had sent her a new pedal, a Boss Metal Zone MT-2 that she had wanted for some time. Her mother had sent a rather expensive looking set of hair clips and some tasty looking cookies that appeared to be home made. Azusa knew better than to assume they were homemade. She was betting on a small bakery or something.

"Oh, like goodies from home or snacks or things you might miss." Ui explained patiently.

"Oh, no. My birthday is soon. My parents they send gifts for that, I am sure. Besides, it come from California, so no Japanese snacks, but mom did send cookies." Azusa said distractedly, not noticing her English was not exactly up to her Composition class standard. She was completely amazed that she got an A in that and suspected that her teacher was lenient on her because she was a foreign student, but she had certainly put a lot of work into it. Besides, written words came easier than spoken ones to her.

"When is your birthday, Azusa? We'll have to celebrate!" Ui was exhibiting her version of excitement. How her roommate managed to be gently excited amused Azusa a little. "Ah, the 11th, Friday."

_2011, I'll be 19 years old, still not old enough to drink in America, and not a full adult in Japan, either. Old enough to get married in either country, I guess._

Azusa quickly put thoughts of marriage out of her head as soon as they arrived, Yui played with her head enough as it was. "Don't make a big deal of it please, Ui." She shouldered her satchel again. "Go to lunch?"

As she left, though, that small thought played in the back of her head.

_But I can marry another woman here._

And her heart added the person she couldn't help thinking of marrying.

* * *

Friday saw more of the sunny but cold weather as Azusa camped in her dorm room after lunch for a bit, doing her math homework, bundled up in a blanket from her bed while sitting at the desk. During the day the dorm radiators didn't give off all that much heat, but at night they were delightful sources. Ui had wished her a happy birthday that morning in their room, and she had gotten a birthday hug and 'recharge' all in one from Yui at lunch along with birthday wishes from the other girls.

Azusa finished her math assignment, and stretched, as a smile came to her face as she thought about Mugi's tea. She glanced over at Ui's empty side of the room, knowing that, that was likely who her roommate was with right now, and wondered a moment about Jun. The puffy haired girl had been trying to get close with Ui all semester, but Ui had been maintaining a distance. However, she kept a distance from Mugi as well. But making tea together almost made it seem as if they were dating to Azusa and she wondered slightly if it did to them. She glanced at her wristwatch, worn on her right wrist so that she didn't have to take it off to play guitar so much and smiled slightly.

_Ui left half an hour ago, and that should mean that between her and Mugi, tea and snacks should be ready by now and that everyone should be there now, as well._

Of course 'everyone' meant Yui to Azusa, whether she admitted it to herself or not. She had her mind on the brunette as she headed downstairs, knocking lightly on the door before reaching to open the usually unlocked suite door.

The door was locked.

_Oh... I wonder if they need some privacy. Nah, but this is weird._

Azusa felt a little cold inside at being shut out, for some reason. She knocked on it louder and called out. "Umm... excuse me. Hey, it's me, Azusa? The door is locked!" She tried to look into the little peephole, but it was designed to be one sided, so it didn't help her.

She was about to give up after a few moments when the door opened suddenly, thrown wide by a widely grinning Yui. After a short pause, where she took a quick note of everyone in the room standing not far from the door, she was greeted with a chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AZUSA!" followed by another big hug from Yui that made the anxiety she was feeling earlier gently melted away by the feeling of having Yui's arms wrapped around her. She knew somewhere in her mind that she should be embarrassed by this public display of affection, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

_It's like she's conditioned me to accept her affection._

Yui guided her to the kitchen table where a round pink cake decorated with the words 'Happy Birthday Azusa' an already lit candle shaped like the number nineteen, surrounded in a field of pink floating balloons that definitely said 'birthday' sat. Soon the candle was blown out by Azusa and everyone was eating cake and drinking tea, after singing the 'Happy Birthday' song to a fidgeting and embarrassed Azusa.

"How did you all get this together so fast?" Azusa looked around at her friends, looking a bit overwhelmed.

Yui giggled a moment then lazily grinned at Azusa. "I saw your student ID when you checked in, Azunyan." Yui drawled, her grin getting wider as Azusa tried to put together how long Yui had been thinking of this. "Besides, it's close to my birthday, easy to remember. Today, we are the same age. Cool, huh?"

Azusa was sitting close enough to Yui on the couch that their legs touched, and that alone made it a little hard for her to concentrate on everyone around them. She looked at Yui a few times, and each time she found Yui was looking her way and greeted her with a smile that brought a slight blush to her cheeks.

_I can't keep my mind off her, and just this much touching is making me warm... there._

Mugi was the first to broach the idea of opening the presents by bringing out a pretty large box and setting it in front of her on the table.

"Mugi-san, you should not have!" She looked at the expensive wrapping on it and felt a little uncomfortable. "That must be too expensive."

"Oh no, birthday girl, you just shut up and unwrap." Ritsu admonished as she added a much smaller present that looked like it was probably a CD by the size and shape. Azusa sank back into the couch and just blushed, she'd never had a birthday party like this, with friends. Actually, she hadn't had a birthday party with her parents since she was in primary school. The presents piled up, large and small, and she watched for the present from Yui but didn't see anything emerge. It disappointed her a little.

_Maybe she went halves with someone else. It's okay._

When Mio added her present to the small pile she told her "Think of it as our way of saying we are glad you are with us." The tall beauty winked and sat back in one of the big chairs, Ritsu perched on the arm of it next to her.

She started opening each in turn carefully, starting with Ritsu's CD._ '__Play Blues: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center with Eric Clapton and Wyntin Marsalis'_. This brought out of her a small gasp as she looked over the track list of the double album. "Wow, this is hard to find, Ritsu-senpai. I will cherish this."

Ui gave her a large hand knit scarf and Mugi a thick expensive looking wool sweater. Mio gave her a thick CMC sweatshirt with a hood, while Jun and Ari had split the cost of a gift card for the local music store. Azusa thanked each in turn for their thoughtfulness and confessed that the warm clothing was definitely something she needed more of.

That left Yui, and although there hadn't been anything from Yui at all, somehow she was certain that Yui got her something. Azusa turned to Yui and noticed she looked uncharacteristically grounded for the amount of sweets that were present, simply watching Azusa soak in attention with a fond smile on her face. When their gazes met, Yui grinned and pulled a small wrapped box out of her shorts pocket and handed it to Azusa, holding her gaze with eyes that all but glowed.

_Jewelry, that's a jewelry box! Oh sweet Kami-sama, is she… can it be?_

Azusa's world shrank down to the two of them, everything else forgotten. Her heart was pounding so loud she could hear it in her ears as she gently took the box with slightly shaking hands and started to unwrap it. Within the wrapping, there was, indeed, a jewelry box. She tried to control her shaking hands as she opened it, gasping softly when she saw a heart shaped silver locket, on a silver chain opened to display the picture within.

The picture was from just after the Lighting Ceremony, she and Yui had posed for a picture together. She was still dressed in white and Yui still in the robes. Yui had her arms wrapped around her from behind and instead of them looking at the camera directly their gazes instead met each other. Anyone could see the affection for each other in the gaze clearly, captured on film.

Azusa brushed her fingertips against the locket and smiled at it fondly, it was then she saw the inscription inside the other half of the lid. '_Azusa, you are forever in my heart. Love, Yui.'_ Azusa gasped when she processed that and her eyes flew up to look at Yui's face, Yui smiled back at her confidently and nodded once.

"Could… could Yui put this on for me?" She stammered out, getting anxious thinking about Yui's hands on her bare skin.

Yui gently took the box from her shaking hands and motioned for her to turn around. She tried to look at everyone around her as she turned her back to Yui and noticed that they all seemed a little blurry, but she couldn't imagine why. She wasn't aware of the tears that were in her eyes.

She felt her hair being moved out of the way, then a soft touch on her neck and collarbones, it was almost like an electric current that made a warm feeling spread down from that touch, filling her chest and then settling down in her stomach, and lower yet as well. Once the necklace was clasped and she could feel the weight of the locket on her chest, those wonderfully feeling hands pulled her up and back, right into Yui's lap with her arms wrapped gently around her. It was like sinking into the _furo_ after a cold day, she could feel the heat from this embrace to her bones.

"Happy birthday, Azusa." Yui's voice softly tickled her ear and Azusa turned sideways into Yui's lap until she could see her love's face, see the smile that set off so many feelings inside her. Yui adjusted her arms and lap to accommodate her change of position and held that gaze with a warmth in her eyes that melted any remaining of Azusa's reserve.

_I'm always drawn into your pace, Yui. Like my lead guitar following the path that your rhythm paves for me, my emotions follow yours, my actions follow yours, and maybe my heart did too... or was that my lead?_

Azusa's world now was just her and Yui. She couldn't hear or feel any of the other people around them and she couldn't bring herself to care about how public they were. All she could care about was how close she was to the woman she loved. Azusa knew she was horrible about expressing herself with words, so in a rather Yui-like fashion she held her love's gaze and slipped her arms around her neck, bringing their faces close, and before she could think about it any further she closed her eyes and brought her lips to Yui's.

Azusa could feel the softness of Yui's lips on her own, pressing back firmly, her mind went elsewhere and nowhere, her entire being focused on that feeling and on her feelings. She parted her own lips slightly and furthered the kiss, a soft moan in her throat as she felt the heat welling upside her already, the white spreading in front of her closed eyes. A hand moved from her waist to the back of her head, cupping and holding it as Yui kissed her back gently.

_She's kissing back, she's really kissing... oh... more!_

The new couple was in their own little world and everyone knew it. Mugi felt especially privileged to witness their first kiss, and the rest of the girls in the room smiled at the kiss, even when it lasted just a little too long. Mugi especially was enamored of it, her hands moving to her cheeks and looking starry eyed.

Ritsu smirked, then looked to her girlfriend's face and smiled more honestly, taking her hand for a moment and squeezing it, speaking softly. "[_About time, huh, Mio?_]" She winked at her lover and then blinked a moment as the kiss lasted a bit longer than a few seconds, and cleared her throat. Apparently Yui heard her and broke the kiss.

Azusa felt the kiss pulling away just as she was getting immersed in it and realized with embarrassment that they were kissing right in front of everyone. Yui had pulled back a few inches and when Azusa's eyes opened Yui gave her a bit of a lopsided grin and nodded slightly, eyes looking to the ceiling a moment followed by a wink.

_She... is she saying my room, later? _

_We kissed. _

_Yatta!_

Azusa glanced around and realized everyone was looking at them then buried her head in Yui's chest. She knew her face had to be badly flushed, and wasn't sure she could do much of anything for the moment except cling to Yui. She felt a hand softly stroking her hair as Yui worked her magic upon her. Already she could feel the heat that was raging in her body cool to a gentle warmth and her breathing return to normal. It took time but she understood what she was feeling when she did that now. It was love, Yui's love for her.

_She loves me. She loves me. She loves me! _

_I think she promised to make love to me._

An involuntary shiver ran through her body and she felt herself being held a little tighter. She couldn't see it, but she could feel Yui's smile when she spoke to everyone else.

"Sorry to upstage everyone, but I think my Azunyan likes my gift best!" There was pride in that sentence; that was clear to hear, and it was ludicrous enough to get a giggle from herself as well.

After a few minutes she turned and looked at everyone, showing her face again. "Thank you everyone. I... this is my best ever birthday." She looked back up at Yui a moment to catch the huge grin on Yui's face and then sighed and leaned in against her once more, not really willing to move.

Azusa didn't move from Yui's lap for the rest of the party, but as it got later she regretfully did, helping Ui to gather up her presents. Yui moved towards her little sister and whispered something to her, taking the load over from Ui. "I'll help you take this stuff to your room, Azunyan." Azusa couldn't help blushing at the big grin on her lover's face. She wasn't fooled, and she doubted that anyone was.

"Go on without me, Azusa-san. I am going to help clean up here." Ui looked at her evenly, and she was her normal polite self, but she could almost feel the mischief between the sisters.

"Thank you, Ui-san." She bowed to Ui then picked up the presents that she hadn't gathered yet, and moved towards the door that already held open for her by Yui. She looked at Yui in the eyes, a question in her own that got a simple nod from the taller girl. She could feel a blush creeping on her cheeks and she dropped her gaze, moving demurely out the door.

Neither of them said a word as they made their way upstairs, the air heavy with unspoken promises. Azusa could feel the warmth gathering within her again in anticipation of what she was expecting, or at least hoping for, once they were alone. Her hand shook as she tried to unlock the door, and just as she was starting to get frustrated another hand was holding hers and guiding her action.

She let go of her as Azusa opened up her room, though she wasn't sure when that happened. Yui put the gifts she carried up, the clothing items, onto Azusa's desk chair and sat on the edge of her bed, watching Azusa with smile as she dropped the other things on the desk itself. She glanced at the box her parents had sent, sitting open on her desk with the gifts still inside it, and gave it no more mind as she slowly walked towards Yui, holding her hands out in front of her.

Yui took Azusa's hands in her own and held them, looking in her eyes, the warmth of her gaze like a gentle massage to the younger woman.

"[_Is this real, Yui-sempai? I... love you. I want you... I want..._]" She hesitated, and Yui smiled a little wider, pulling her gently to sit in her lap and then wrapping her arms around her.

Yui's voice was firm, her Japanese carefully pronounced. Azusa could hear the certainty in her voice. It went up her spine in a slow tingle when she heard it. "[_I want all of Azusa, because she is mine. I give you my heart in return._]"

Azusa looked down into Yui's face, slightly below hers and swallowed hard, then nodded while holding her gaze. "[_I am your girl, Yui. Please treat me well from now on._]"

* * *

**A/N - **

Well, that one was a lot shorter, and easier on my precious and pretty damn awesome Beta readers that I certainly couldn't do without the help of.

Thank you Musician74, your insight into characters and feelings, and your eye for detail are irreplaceable.

Thank you Lupo Azzurro for having an awesome grasp on grammar, trust me folks, if you see great grammar, it's not me, it's Lupo.

(Lupo replied in comment here "You are very welcome", which I found hilarious. Thanks again Lupo!)

Both of my Betas do more than I could probably express, and put themselves out to help me get this stuff up for you, my gentle readers, to peruse.

Thanks also to everyone who has read this far, I couldn't do this without you either. Please review, or send me a message, let me know what you liked and what you didn't like, what you want to see more of, or just say hi!

Till next chapter, in which Doris gets her oats.


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